Defense Ministry Removed Troops form Kodori

Defense Ministry reported on April 11 that Georgian side fulfilled provisions of April 2 protocol and pulled out its units from Kodori gorge.

According to the April 2 protocol Georgian Defense Ministry had to withdraw its units from upper reaches of Kodori gorge, the only territory of breakaway Abkhazia controlled by the Georgian government, till April 10.

Georgian Defense Ministry’s official representative Mirian Kiknadze stated on April 11, that the border guards replaced Defense Ministry’s units in the gorge to protect local Georgia population of the gorge.

“Pull out form Kodori was a demonstration of Georgia’s good will, that Tbilisi is ready for the peace process,” Mirian Kiknadze told Civil Georgia.

Georgian Defense Ministry dispatched 350 soldiers to Kodori last October, when the gorge was intensively bombed by the unidentified [allegedly Russian] war planes.

Since last October Abkhazian side together with Russia constantly demanded from Georgia to pull out troops from the troubled gorge.