Lavrov: Moscow to Sign Military Treaty with Sokhumi in Early 2009

Russia will sign military cooperation treaty with breakaway Abkhazia early next year, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said on December 23.

Speaking at a joint news conference with the breakaway region’s foreign minister Sergey Shamba in Moscow, Lavrov said that Moscow and Sokhumi would intensify talks on the matter.

Lavrov and Shamba have exchanged instruments of ratification of a comprehensive bilateral cooperation treaty, which was signed by the Abkhaz leader, Sergey Bagapsh, and Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, in Moscow in September. A similar agreement has also been signed with the breakaway South Ossetia.

“With this framework agreement in force, there are about 20 other agreements almost ready covering cooperation in various fields. The most important among them are related to providing security and regulate cooperation in the military sphere, joint protection of the Abkhaz border,” the Russian news agencies reported quoting Lavrov.

The Russian authorities have already stated that they planned to deploy 3,700 troops in each of the breakaway region – Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, said in October, that Russia would complete housing for its troops in military bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia “within one year."

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