Russian Officials Call for Talks to Solve Issue of Military Bases
Chairman of the Russian Parliament?s lower house Committee for Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev expressed hope, during an interview with the Russian Echo Moskvy radio station on February 26, that Georgia?s ?threats? regarding an announcement that the Russian military bases on the Georgian territory are illegal ?will not become Georgia?s real policy.?
In an interview with the Rustavi 2 television company, Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze did not rule out that Georgia might announce that these bases as illegal in the event that no agreement is reached with Russia over a timeframe for their pullout.
?To block these bases, or to halt electricity, or water supply to these bases is not a civilized form of behavior? Russia should react to these kinds of threats calmly, without any panic,? Russian MP Konstantin Kosachev said.
Meanwhile, the Russian news agency Interfax quoted an unnamed Russian Defense Ministry official as saying on February 27 that ?the issue of [these] Russian military bases can not be solved through threats and intimidation; [it can only be solved] through negotiations.?
During a visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Georgia on February 18, Moscow and Tbilisi agreed to intensify talks and to set up separate working groups in an attempt to reach a breakthrough sometime in the next two months over a set of issues which currently top the agenda of bilateral ties. The issue of these military bases are among those issues that top the agenda.
