The Hindu : Russia lashes out at U.S.-Georgia pact

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 17, 2003

International

International

Russia lashes out at U.S.-Georgia pact

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW APRIL 16. The Russian Parliament has denounced as `unfriendly' and "threatening Russia's security'' a defence pact between the U.S. and Georgia, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus.

A resolution overwhelmingly approved by the State Duma, the Russian Parliament's Lower House, on Tuesday said the pact "can seriously upset the balance of forces in Trans-Caucasus and creates a threat to international security, above all to the security of Russia.'' The U.S.-Georgia defence cooperation agreement ratified by the Georgian Parliament last month gives the U.S. military the right to visa-free travel in Georgia and to free deployment of troops, weapons and defence hardware on Georgian territory.

The Russian Parliament said that the accord "is aimed at a further build-up of American military presence in Trans-Caucasus'' and warned that this "ran counter to the spirit of a treaty of friendship, good-neighbourhood, cooperation and mutual security that Russia and Georgia are working on.'' Russian lawmakers voiced concern that the U.S.-Georgia defence pact could pave the way to "the use of U.S. armed forces in Georgia for resolving by force the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.''

The two regions unilaterally declared their independence from Georgia in the 1990s and applied for accession to Russia. Some Russian legislators said Russia should positively review these applications considering the fact that 70 per cent of Abkhazia's population and 50 per cent of South Ossetia's had Russian citizenship.

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