Russia to keep troops in Georgia

Russia to keep troops in Georgia

Russian troops will remain in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali

Russia says it will keep 7,600 troops in Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia after withdrawing from the rest of the country. On Monday, Russia agreed to withdraw its troops from positions within Georgia, taken up during the recent conflict, by mid-October. But the Russian president ordered troop bases be set up in the regions. Russia’s foreign minister said the troops were expected to remain in place “for the foreseeable future”. “They will be there a long time,” Sergei Lavrov said from Moscow. “This is absolutely necessary, so as not to allow a repeat of armed actions,” he added. Mr Lavrov said that both regions – which Russia has now recognised as independent – should also be able to participate in talks on Georgia scheduled for next month in Geneva with “fully fledged” places. International observers Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that some 3,800 men would be positioned in each breakaway region. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had already indicated that Moscow intended to maintain a military presence in the regions, but Mr Serdyukov’s statement provides the first specific breakdown of troop numbers. On Monday, Mr Medvedev pledged to withdraw troops from the rest of Georgia on condition that the EU would deploy at least 200 observers, along with 220 other international monitors to ensure the security of the two breakaway regions. Russian troops are present in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as in so-called buffer zones around these regions and near the strategic port city of Poti. Fighting between Russia and Georgia began on 7 August after the Georgian military tried to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia by force. Russian forces launched a counter-attack and the conflict ended with the ejection of Georgian troops from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia.