KRASNOYARSK. Jan 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Wednesday that the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia will be organized differently of the earlier pullout from Germany.
"Everybody realizes this perfectly well and I reaffirmed it yet again that the withdrawal of our bases from Georgia will not happen the way it was done in Germany," Ivanov told journalists in Krasnoyarsk.
"Then, soldiers, officers and weapons were dumped in the middle of nowhere and it was called a withdrawal. This won't happen again," he said.
"We need to build new military settlements for the bases and personnel earmarked for withdrawal. This is a lengthy process and the important thing is that Russia's Finance Ministry will plan allocations after the Russian-Georgian interstate treaty is signed," he said.
Such a treaty does not exist at present, he noted.
"Talks are underway and they will be continued. All sorts of statements can be made on the issue. We are unperturbed by them," he said.
Russia is not conducting a dialogue "with nationalists and marginal elements, but with Georgia's legal authorities," he said.
"Acting Georgian president Nino Burjanadze recently visited Moscow. I discussed these issues with her and we agreed to resume talks. The decision involving the withdrawal of the Russian bases from Georgian territory should remain in the diplomatic sphere alone," he said.