Withdrawing Peacekeepers from Abkhazia Will Not Effect Ties, Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he believed the Georgian parliament's decision to pull out Russian peacekeepers from its breakaway republic of Abkhazia is "not a signal of worsening bilateral relations."

"Georgia's intention on withdrawing Russian peacekeepers will only reduce Russia's burden due to its special relations with Georgia in the political sphere," said the president.

Putin noted that the Georgian administration has made an attempt to drive out Chechen terrorists.

"It is not bad, but what is bad is that it has been done without coordination. They (the terrorists) appear in other places. This is why we had to strengthen the border with Georgia along its entire length," he added.

Putin also said Russia did not intend to involve itself to the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict, which he claimed was a political problem of Georgia.

Undoubtedly, Russia has expressed concerns over the increasingly tense situation on its border, but "we have believed in, and believe in now, the territorial integrity of Georgia," he said.

The president also promised Russia would meet its commitment to close down its military base in Abkhazia and pull out its personnel.

The Georgian parliament approved late Thursday a resolution demanding the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) from Abkhazia within three months.

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said Friday in a televised address that Georgia is doing its best to make relations with Russia "healthier" although it is "tense" at current stage.

Shevardnadze, who vowed to help implement the parliament's resolution on Thursday, stressed Georgia was willing to stage all- level dialogues with Russia to clarify the "normal and good- neighborly relations" between the two countries.

In the Soviet period, Abkhazia was an autonomous republic in western Georgia. It fought a bloody independence war in 1992-93 that ended with Georgia pulling out its troops from Abkhazia in defeat.

Some 1,600 CIS peacekeepers, all from Russia, are now deployed in the zone under a 1994 agreement.

General Anis Ahmed Bajwa, head of the U.N. military observer mission in Abkhazia, on Friday denied reports about the evacuation of the U.N. workers from the region.

The mission is stationed in Abkhazia in accordance with a mandate issued by the U.N. Security Council and only the council can decide on its presence or evacuation from the region, he said.






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