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Duma ratifies agreements on Russian military presence in Georgia

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  • Duma ratifies agreements on Russian military presence in Georgia

    Duma ratifies agreements on Russian military presence in Georgia

    RIA Novosti
    October 06, 2006

    MOSCOW, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's lower house of parliament
    ratified Friday agreements on the transit of Russian military cargo
    and personnel through Georgia, and on the terms, order of operation
    and withdrawal from Russian military bases in Georgia.

    The agreements were ratified in line with documents signed by Russia
    and Georgia in March 2006 in Sochi.

    After four Russian officers were detained in Tbilisi and charged
    with espionage last week, Russia suspended travel, postal links
    with Georgia, and threatened to freeze banking transactions with the
    southern neighbor.

    The sanctions remain in force despite Georgia's release of the Russian
    officers Monday.

    The first ratified agreement defines transit procedures through
    Georgian territory of military cargo and personnel in support of the
    102nd Russian military base in Armenia.

    The Russian 102nd military base in Gyumri, about 120 kilometers
    (75 miles) from the Armenian capital Yerevan, is part of a joint air
    defense system of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which was
    deployed in Armenia in 1995.

    The base operates under the authority of the Russian group of forces
    in the South Caucasus, and is equipped with S-300 (SA-10 Grumble)
    air defense systems, MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters and 5,000 personnel.

    Under the agreement, the Russian military transit through Georgia may
    be conducted by road, air or rail transport. Russia cannot deliver
    through Georgian territory, including its air space, nuclear, chemical
    or biological weapons, as well as other weapons of mass destruction,
    including its components.

    The term of the agreement is five years, but it may be extended if
    there are no objections from either side.

    The ratified agreement on the terms, order of operation and
    withdrawal of the Russian military bases in Georgia states that two
    Soviet-era bases in the western city of Batumi and the southern city
    of Akhalkalaki will remain operational during the gradual process of
    removing troops and hardware.

    Under the 2006 agreement, Russia must withdraw from the southern city
    of Akhalkalaki by October 1, 2007, but the deadline can be extended
    until December in the event of complications.

    The withdrawal from Batumi in the west of Georgia must be completed
    by late 2008. Russian military officials said they have been kept on
    schedule in 2006.

    Since Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in Georgia on the back of
    the 2003 "Rose Revolution," both the government and parliament have
    sought to remove Russian peacekeepers from the conflict zones with
    two self-proclaimed republics, and to force the withdrawal of Russian
    troops from the two Soviet-era bases.
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