MOSCOW. Jan 8 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian-Georgian military consultations in Moscow have not resulted in any decisions for they were informal, a competent source in the Russian Defense Ministry told Interfax-Military News Agency Thursday.
"Within a private visit to Moscow, Georgian Foreign Minister Tedo Japaridze met Russian First Deputy Chief of Staff Colonel General Yuri Baluyevsky Thursday and discussed a number of military problems," the source said.
He emphasized that the meeting was informal and therefore did not result in any decisions.
At the same time, the source specified that the meeting had had on the agenda the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia, the operation of peacekeeping forces in the Georgian- Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian conflict areas, and possible presence of Chechen rebels and foreign mercenaries in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge.
In the meantime, media have said that Japaridze and Baluyevsky had discussed possible compromise on the terms of withdrawal of Russian military bases.
"I haven't made any public statements on the issue," Baluyevsky told Interfax-AVN on Thursday. He declined to provide any comments.
In official talks on this subject, Russia has repeatedly said that the withdrawal of its bases from Georgia would take no less than 11 years.
In particular, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said last December that Russia fully complied with the provisions of the Istanbul OCSE Summit (November 1999).
"Under these agreements, Russia was to withdraw two of its four military bases from Georgia, which we have done," Ivanov said.
The withdrawal of bases headquartered in Akhalkalaki (Samtskhe-Javakhetia) and Batumi (Ajaria) will take no less than 11 years, Ivanov said at a meeting with Georgian acting president Nino Burjanadze on December 25, 2003.