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TIMEFRAME FOR RUSSIA'S WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA NOT SET

RIA Novosti

TBILISI, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Foreign Ministry's Ambassador at Large Igor Savolsky has not specified the timeframe for the pullout of Russian military bases from Georgia.

According to the Novosti-Georgia news agency, the Georgian Foreign Ministry is hosting Russian-Georgian negotiations Friday, with Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Merab Antadze heading the Georgian delegation. Mr. Savolsky is leading the Russian team.

Before the meeting, Mr. Savolsky told reporters that issues of Russian military bases in Georgia would be discussed, notably dealing with withdrawal and the use of the infrastructure the Russian troops would leave behind for future counter-terrorist centers.

"We used to talk about 11 years, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, but I can not specify the timeframe as long as negotiations are in progress," Mr. Savolsky said.

Under the OSCE Istanbul Agreements reached in 1999, the two remaining Russian military bases on Georgian soil - in Batumi and Akhalkalaki - are to be dismantled. Russian forces have already pulled out of two other bases: Vaziani (30 kilometers from Tbilisi) and Gudauta (in Abkhazia, Georgia).

The Russian Foreign Ministry Press and Information Department said today Russia was willing to do its part in settling all disputes with Georgia. The Russian Foreign Ministry underscored that the drafting of a Russian-Georgian treaty on friendship, neighborliness, cooperation, and security has been the highest priority to date.

"If both sides take into account one another's interests, and if both seek mutually acceptable compromise, progress in resolving problems concerning the schedule and conditions of operation of Russian military bases in Georgia will also be possible," Mr. Savolsky said.

Russian-Georgian state border security is another important issue on the bilateral agenda.

Russian diplomats also favor a step-by-step approach in resolving disputes between Georgia and its breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.