Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a federal
law on the withdrawal of Russian military bases in Georgia, the
Kremlin press service said on Thursday.
The law was passed by the State Duma on Oct. 6 and approved by
the upper house of parliament on Oct. 13.
Russia inherited four military bases in Georgia from the former
Soviet Union and has withdrawn two of them. Nearly 3,000 Russian
servicemen are deployed in the Akhalkalaki and Batumi bases.
Russia and Georgia signed an agreement in late March that set
out the deadline and details of the pullout of Russian military
bases from Georgia. Under the accord, the two sides agreed to
complete the phased withdrawal of the Russian bases and other
military installations in Georgia by the end of 2008.
Also on Thursday, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
urged Russia to lift sanctions against Georgia, which were
introduced earlier in autumn.
"This is the moment for moderation and de-escalation on all
sides, on both sides. Also that means the sanctions, the measures
which have been ... put in place, that I would hope that the time
has now come to lift these measures," de Hoop Scheffer told a news
conference after talks in Moscow.
He was referring to sanctions imposed by Russia after Georgia
arrested and briefly held four Russian officers on spying
charges.
De Hoop Scheffer arrived in Moscow on Wednesday on a two-day
working visit, for talks with Russian officials on cooperation
between the bloc and Russia.
(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2006)
