MOSCOW. Oct 11 (Interfax-AVN) - All Russian troops serving in Tbilisi will leave Georgia by the end of 2006, ahead of an earlier deadline approved, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday.
"I have made a decision that the entire Russian contingent in Tbilisi will leave Georgia before December 31, ahead of schedule. This means that 387 Russian servicemen will return from Tbilisi," Ivanov told reporters on Tuesday.
Ivanov also said there were 484 civilians working in the garrison. He said 300 of them were Georgian and would stay in Georgia after the Russian troops leave but would lose their jobs. The Russian civilian personnel would be come back to Russia, he said.