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Russia ratifies treaty with breakaway regions

MOSCOW: Russia’s Lower House of Parliament on Wednesday ratified treaties with the Georgian breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia that would allow Moscow to station thousands of troops there.

Russia recognised the two regions as independent states in the aftermath of August’s war with Georgia.

Legislators in the Duma voted unanimously to ratify the treaties, which formalise military, diplomatic and economic ties between Russia and the two regions.

Russia has said it will station 7,600 troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The soldiers would be deployed at the request of the breakaway regions’ authorities to protect them from any Georgian attacks. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told legislators those numbers could be reduced.

“Naturally, if we can achieve more robust security on the borders of these two states, we will draw corresponding conclusions in terms of the numbers of the Russian military units there,” he said.

Russian forces launched a massive counter-attack on Georgia in August after Georgia sent troops to wrest control over South Ossetia. Moscow said it had been obliged to act to prevent a Georgian genocide. Nicaragua is the only state that has joined Russia in recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. The cooperation treaties must still be ratified by the Upper House of Parliament.

Russia has underlined that it has fully met its commitments under a peace deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which obliged Moscow to withdraw its forces from areas outside Georgia’s breakaway provinces.

The EU had deployed its officials to monitor the Russian pullout from the embattled area. — Agencies

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