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Tbilisi Has Closed the Border For Russian Draftees

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  • Tbilisi Has Closed the Border For Russian Draftees

    Agency WPS
    DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
    November 1, 2004, Monday

    TBILISI HAS CLOSED THE BORDER FOR RUSSIAN DRAFTEES[]

    SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, October 29, 2004, p. 5

    by Yury Simonyan


    Around 400 Russian servicemen currently wait for Georgian visas in the
    Armenian city of Gyumri. They must be sent to the 62nd military base in
    Akhalkalaki. The command of the Russian group of forces in the
    Trans-Caucasian region has repeatedly asked the Georgian Foreign
    Ministry to speed up the process of issuing visas to the Russian
    servicemen. Colonel Vladimir Kuparadze, deputy commander of the Russian
    group of forces in the Trans-Caucasian region, said that the delay is
    caused by formalism of the Georgian Foreign Ministry, which
    scrupulously verified the list and the actual number of draftees.
    Colonel Kuparadze said: "The Georgian Foreign Ministry's hesitation is
    caused by the fact that we intend to completely deploy the military
    base. We previously lacked servicemen at the base, and intend to send
    more soldiers to Georgia. At the same time, we do not violate the
    agreements with the Georgian leadership. We have submitted all
    documents required for issuing visas to the Georgian leadership. This
    is a scheduled rotation of Russian servicemen. Our soldiers wait for a
    permit to enter Georgia in Gyumri."

    The Georgian Foreign Ministry party confirmed the information announced
    by the Russian group of forces. The Foreign Ministry stated: "We are
    verifying the compliance of the documents submitted by the Russian
    military with the agreements signed by the Georgian leadership." At the
    same time, the source in the Georgian ministry did not say when the
    problem will be resolved. He noted that this procedure takes much time:
    "This is routine, which takes time. However, we have already issued
    some visas to Russian servicemen."

    In the meantime, the Georgian Defense Ministry intends to replace its
    peacekeeping contingent in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict.
    Georgia reported its intention to Major-General Marat Kulakhmetov,
    commander of the peacekeeping force. It should be noted that the staff
    of the peacekeeping force does not object against Georgia's intention.
    The Russian general said: "We do not protest despite the fact that
    rotation must take place once every six months. The rotation of the
    Russian and Ossetian battalions will take place according to the
    schedule."

    However, Tskhinvali's opinion regarding the impending (fifth) rotation
    of the Georgian peacekeeping contingent is somewhat different. Boris
    Chochiyev, co-chairman of the joint monitoring commission (South
    Ossetia), stated: "We are sure that such frequent rotations of
    peacekeeping contingents are part of a reconnaissance operation on the
    eve of aggression against South Ossetia. Over 2,000 Georgian servicemen
    have already examined this theater of war as a result of a range of
    rotations."

    Translated by Alexander Dubovoi
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