MOSCOW. July 22 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia has no objections to inspections being carried out at the former Russian military base in Gudauta in Abkhazia, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Yakovenko told the press in Moscow on Tuesday.
In this connection, Yakovenko expressed surprise over a recent statement by the Georgian parliament calling on Russia to give its consent to an inspection at the former Russian base.
"It is difficult to understand the motives behind this address to Russia. Likely, the Georgian parliamentarians were insufficiently informed on the issue. We are certainly far from assuming that it was dictated by a desire to obscure the issue and cause additional tensions in bilateral relations," Yakovenko said.
"There is no problem," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Back in 2001, Russia withdrew its armaments and hardware limited by the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) and dismantled its military base in Gudauta under the control of international inspectors and in line with obligations under a Russian-Georgian joint statement signed in Istanbul on November 17, 1999. "In July 2001, we officially notified the CFE signatories of this," Yakovenko said.
"The Gudauta military base, some facilities of which are being used in the interests of the CIS collective peacekeeping forces in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict area, was thereby closed for inspections under the treaty," he said.
At the same time, "Russia has no objections to having an inspection carried out in Gudauta in line with Section VIII of the CFE's Protocol on Inspection," Yakovenko said.
"We believe that, in line with this document, Georgia enjoys all the rights and honors all the obligations of an inspected state," Yakovenko said.
Russia is prepared to assume responsibility for providing security for a group of inspectors and people accompanying them at the facilities of the former military base used by Russian peacekeepers, he said.
"Apart from this, we could consider the possibility of monitoring the Gudauta facilities currently being used in the interests of the CIS collective peacekeeping forces and the UN mission in Georgia," he said.