TBILISI. Aug 12 (Interfax) - The U.S. ambassador to Georgia on Thursday said it would be a destabilizing factor if reports that Russia has deployed S-300 surface-to-air missile systems in Abkhazia were confirmed.
Press reports do not make it clear whether the alleged S-300 systems were deployed in Abkhazia just now or earlier on, Ambassador John Bass told reporters. This, he said, means the United States has no access to comprehensive information on what is happening in Abkhazia.
The European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia is barred from Abkhazia, he complained.
He accused Russia of failing to meet its commitments under a French-brokered peace agreement that followed the Russian-Georgian war of August 2008. He mentioned that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton brought up the issue during a recent visit to Tbilisi.
Bass said the reported deployment of S-300 systems in Abkhazia was more evidence that Russia is failing to comply with the terms of the peace deal.
Earlier, the commander of the Russian Air Force, Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, had told Interfax that S-300 systems had been deployed in Abkhazia and that the purpose was to protect a local Russian military base and shield Abkhazia and South Ossetia from possible aerial attacks.