MOSCOW, June 14 (AVN) - The next leg of the Russian-Georgian military negotiations will be held here on June 22 and 23, a spokesman for the Defence Ministry told the Military News Agency on Thursday.
The Russian party will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov and the Georgian one by Foreign Minister Irakly Menagarishvili. The talks were originally supposed to be held in mid-June but were postponed with mutual consent. Before the negotiations, Russian and Georgian military experts will meet in Moscow on June 20 to 21.
The main issues for discussion will be related to reduction of Russian troops in the Trans-Caucasus in accordance with the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. Particularly, the parties will discuss the stationing terms of Russian military bases in Akhalkalaki and Batumi which were not fixed during the previous leg. The Russian party believes that withdrawal of those bases would take 14 years and require RUR4.4bn (USD151.2m) while the Georgian party insists on a three-year term.
The parties will also analyse the schedule of the complete withdrawal of the Vaziani and Gudauta bases which is to end on July 1 this year. There is no problem with disbandment of the air base in Vaziani, but the withdrawal term for the Gudauta base are likely to be changed due to protests of Abkhazian leadership and population.
Among other issues for discussion will be the situation around visa controls on the Russia-Georgia border and the Georgian parliament resolution declaring lari, Georgian national currency, the only means of payment for Russian servicemen.