TBILISI, April 4 (AVN) - The visit of Russian military experts to Georgia, that were supposed to arrive late on Monday, is postponed, a source in the Georgian Defence Ministry told the Military News Agency.
According to the source, the Russian party asked to postpone the negotiations on the transfer of 14 military installations of the Russian Forces group in Trans-Caucasus due to technical reasons.
In the meantime the Agency's sources in the Russian Forces group say that "the day before the planned visit it has become clear that the negotiations will not be efficient. The Georgian side intended to raise the question of transferring 44 installations to Tbilisi, instead of the earlier planned 14, the sources said.
In addition to that the position of Georgia at these negotiations contradicted Russia's national interests, since it was practically aimed at withdrawing the Russian military from the republic's territory.
This information is indirectly proven by the recent statement of Deputy Defence Minister for international relations Grigol Katamadze, saying that Tbilisi demanded not only the transfer of 44 installations of the Russian military, but also the compensation for the earlier withdrawn military property and equipment (for the total sum of USD9bn, as well as the rent for the installations used by the group.
According to the Agency's sources in the Russian Forces group, the official Moscow has decided to discuss all the above stated questions at the future negotiations on bilateral military co-operation between the two countries. The date has not yet been specified.