Parliament Softens Stance over Resolution Against Russian Bases

Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze reiterated at the parliamentary session on March 9 that the endorsement of a draft resolution, which envisages announcing the Russian military bases stationed in Georgia as illegal, will be inappropriate at this moment and called the Parliamentary Committees for Defense and Security and Foreign Affairs to further discuss this draft resolution at the session on March 9.
 
Burjanadze also said that according to the agreement reached with the Russian side, Moscow should outline concrete proposals over the timeframe and terms of pullout for the bases until May 1. ?If the Russian side fails to meet its commitment, we will return to the draft resolution and demand unconditional pullout of the bases,? the Parliamentary Chairperson said on March 9.

Nino Burjanadze said on March 8 that neither she nor the President was informed about the Parliament?s intention to discuss this draft resolution. ?I, as well as the President [Mikheil Saakashvili], was not aware of this [draft resolution]. It was not planned to discuss this resolution at the [parliamentary] session this week,? Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze said.

The decision to discuss this draft resolution against the Russian military bases was made on March 7 during a meeting of the parliamentary bureau that plans the schedule for the upcoming week in the legislature. Nino Burjanadze, who returned from an unofficial visit to Germany late on March 7, did not attend the session of the parliamentary bureau, which decided to discuss the draft resolution on March 9.

The parliamentarians did not remove this issue from the agenda of the parliamentary session; however it is most likely that discussion of the document will be postponed.