MP: Russian Defense Minister Obstructs Deal on Military Bases

Chairman of the Georgian Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security Givi Targamadze said that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov wants to thwart a handshake agreement reached by the Georgian and Russian Foreign Ministers last month over withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia, Interpress news agency reported.

MP Givi Targamadze?s accusation follows the statement of the Russian Defense Minister in an interview to the Russian daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta published on May 4. Sergey Ivanov said that Russia can pull out its military bases from Batumi and Akhalkalaki at least in four years.

Georgian and Russian Foreign Ministers Salome Zourabichvili and Sergey Lavrov agreed in Moscow on April 25 that Russia will start pulling out of its bases in 2005 and will finish the process of withdrawal by January 1, 2008.

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