MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the Russian military has pulled out from the base in Gudauta.
"The Gudauta Russian military base was disbanded not only de jure but de facto too," a Foreign Ministry statement obtained by Interfax on Friday reads.
"Several days ago, the remaining possessions and personnel were withdrawn from the base, which was officially disbanded on July 1, 2001," the statement reads.
"The fulfillment of this task required additional energetic efforts from the Russian side." The Foreign Ministry expressed "gratitude to the Abkhaz authorities for their assistance."
Some installations of the base "will be used in the interests of the CIS Collective Peacekeeping Forces for maintaining peace in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone," the statement reads.
CIS peacekeepers will be incorporated into the support group in Gudauta.
"The completed disbanding and withdrawal of the Gudauta Russian military base will remove certain claims and concerns of the Georgian side.'
"Russia's compliance with the Istanbul statement of November 17, 1999 will promote good-neighbor relations between Russia and Georgia," the statement reads.