SUKHUMI, Georgia, October 9 (AVN) - Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia has set up its armed forces on high alert due to possible attempts of the Russian military to withdraw armament and equipment of the Gudauty base, Abkhazian Defence Minister Vladimir Mikanba said on Monday.
"Not a single unit of armament will be withdrawn from Gudauty. We have enough forces and means to thwart it," Mikanba told the Military News Agency.
According to information obtained by the Agency, the Abkhazian army numbers 5,000 servicemen, 35 tanks, 70 APCs, several artillery divisions comprising 80 cannons of various calibre, air defence units armed with ZSU-23 self-propelled air defence systems and Strela portable air defence missile systems.
The commander of the Gudauty base, Colonel Alexander Shushukin, told the Agency the withdrawal will not start until all issues are settled by political means. "We will not enter into hostilities to get to Russia. But a necessity for it is very unlikely to emerge. There will apparently be an agreement with Georgia on transforming the base into a peacekeepers training centre.