Russia Protests Against Georgian-US Military Agreement

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 17, 2003

Russia Protests Against Georgian-US Military Agreement

Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, protested on Wednesday against a military agreement between Georgia and the United States, saying it is "unfriendly" to Russia.

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Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, protested on Wednesday against a military agreement between Georgia and the United States, saying it is "unfriendly" to Russia.

The agreement, ratified by the Georgian Parliament last month, allows the United States to deploy military personnel, equipment and transportation means in Georgia at any time, and US soldiers to receive standard diplomatic immunity.

In a resolution adopted by a vote of 350-3, with one abstention, the Duma said the agreement contradicts the spirit of a treaty Russia and Georgia are going to sign on good-neighborliness, cooperation and mutual security.

The Duma also said the agreement will facilitate the increase of US military presence in the Transcaucasian region while the Georgian government is not going to take the responsibility of supervising US military actions there.

Russia never has enjoyed such privileges as those provided by the agreement to the United States, the Duma added. If Georgia does not grant Russia the same privileges, it will upset the balance of forces in the region and threaten international stability, particularly Russia's security.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry denounced the Duma's resolution as an attempt to interfere in the country's internal affairs.

The ministry said the Duma overreacted to a sovereign neighbor country's military cooperation with an anti-terrorism ally. It is baseless to say the Georgia-US agreement will put Russia's security and strategic interests in jeopardy.

It also accused Russia of intending to take advantage of the complex international situation to put political pressure on Georgia. That would only undermine the process of normalizing relations between the two countries, the ministry added.

Georgian Foreign Minister Iraklii Menagarishvili said on Wednesday that the Georgian-US cooperation will continue.

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