Newspaper Reports on Georgia’s Position over Military Bases

The Russian daily Kommersant reported on March 24 that Georgia is ready to agree on the pullout of Russian military bases from Georgia within four years – before January 1, 2009 – on the condition that during this period these bases will operate in a ?pull-out regime,? wherein the maintaining of combat-readiness, military exercises and rotation of military personnel, as well as some other military operations will be banned. No source of this information was indicated by the newspaper.

But, according to Kommersant, the Russian side is against this proposal of Russian bases functioning in a “pull-out regime.”

?Even if the Russian side agrees on a four-year timeframe for the bases’ withdrawal, the Russian Defense Ministry will insist that the military bases function in a usual regime,? the Kommersant reports.

The Georgian side is also ready to donate apartments to Russian officers ?in downtown Tbilisi, which can be profitably sold before leaving Georgia.? Moreover, Georgia is also ready to raise some USD 10-15 million from international donors for the transportation of personnel and military hardware to Russia. 

Georgian-Russian talks over the military base, which were launched in Moscow on March 23, are still underway.

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