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Russia and Georgia agreed Monday that Russian will complete the closure of its two military bases in Georgia during 2008, resolving one of the most serious disputes between the two former soviet countries.
"The final pullout will be finished during 2008," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks in Moscow with his Georgian counterpart Salome Zurabishvili, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.
Russian troops and equipment will be withdrawn first from the military base at the southern city of Akhalkalaki and then from the Black Sea port of Batumi. Some 3,000 troops are stationed at the two bases.
Lavrov said the agreement meant the withdrawal could take place "without any kind of discomfort for the soldiers" and said the pact would "help further develop our relations."
Russian and Georgian experts will meet on Tuesday to work out plans of the pullout in Georgia, said Lavrov.
"We have taken an important and constructive step. We have achieved our goal," Zurabishvili told reporters.
In addition to the bases, Russia and Georgia have agreed on delimitation of the Georgian-Russian border by the end of the year.
"We will do everything" to contribute to peaceful resolution to Georgia's separatist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Lavrov said.
Russia had kept four military bases in Georgia, a former Soviet republic, after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Two of the four bases have been backed out, but the two countries have been locked in tense negotiations over the timetable for the pullout of the rest.
Georgia said the bases shall be pulled out by Jan. 1, 2008, but Russia wanted more time to prepare for housing the soldiers and equipment to be withdrawn.
Georgia imposed sanctions on the bases two weeks ago by limiting visas to Russian soldiers and placing stricter control over the transportation of equipment and cargo to and from the bases.
The sanctions, "unreasonable" as called by Russian President Vladimir Putin, have strained the already-nervous ties.
(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2005)
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