TBILISI. Feb 27 (Interfax-AVN) - A group of Russian combat engineers will arrive in Georgia in the near future in order to clear mines at the former ammunition dump in Sagarejo in the east of the country.
"The Russian Defense Ministry is sending a group of 30 combat engineers to Sagarejo to clear the territory adjacent to the former 430th ammunition depot of the Russian Force in Transcaucasia," a source in the Georgian Defense Ministry told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
"We are waiting for the Russian side to submit a list of Russian servicemen in order to receive Georgian visas. As far as the visas are concerned, there will be no problems whatsoever, as Tbilisi is interested in the Russian combat engineer assistance," the source emphasized.
A staff officer of the Russian Force in Transcaucasia headquarters confirmed that transportation and disposal of ammunition, stored at the 430th Depot, has almost been completed, while the site had been prepared to be handed over to the Georgian side.
"All we have to do is clear the adjacent territory of mines, with the operation to start as soon as the weather is suitable, given landslides," the officer said.
The 430th Ammunition Depot in Sagarejo used to store about 100,000 tonnes of ammunition. In October 2003 part of munitions and equipment were transported to the 102nd military base in Gyumri, Armenia. The rest of munitions were disposed of.