Russia Considers Military Transit, Base Pullout Treaties with Tbilisi
The Russian government is expected to discuss at a session on March 2 an agreement with Georgia on the transit of military personnel and cargo to the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia via Georgia, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The five–year agreement, which has already been agreed upon with the Georgian side, obliges Russia to not transfer any armament transited through the Georgian territory to a third country. The amount of military cargo that will be transited via Georgia will be agreed between Russia and Georgia one year in advance.
Russia also undertakes the commitment not to transit biological, nuclear or chemical substances, as well as weapon of mass destruction or their components.
According to the draft agreement, Georgia can refuse the transit of items if the movement of the military cargo poses a threat to its national security or if the final destination of the transited military cargo is a location within a conflict zone or a warring state.
The Russian government is also expected to discuss on March 2 a treaty with Georgia over the withdrawal of the Russian military bases from Batumi and Akhalkalaki, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
This treaty is based on an agreement reached between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Georgian ex-Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili in May, 2005. Russia has pledged to pull out its military bases from Georgia by the end of 2008.
Russia plans to allocate a total of USD 77.2 million over the next three years for the withdrawal of the bases from Georgia, Interfax news agency reported.
