Russia, Georgia Fail to Agree over Withdrawal of Military Bases

The Russian-Georgian talks were held in Moscow on November 12-13 to discuss the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia.

The issues of implementation of the Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and Georgia adopted in Istanbul on 17 November 1999 were discussed during the talks.

The Russian side claims, it has reduced its military armament in Georgia and withdrawn the military units from Vaziani and Gudauta bases.

The Russian military experts said they are ready to discuss the terms of withdrawal of Russian military bases from Akhalkalaki and Batumi.

However, the participants of the meeting failed to reach an agreement over the terms of withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia.

The Georgian side offers a term of three years for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Akhalkalaki and Gudauta, while the Russian side insists on 11 years.