"All this has been coordinated and signed; new hardware is brought in, old hardware is taken out under transparent control. Yesterday all this ended," the minister said.
"Peacekeepers showed the signature of a Georgian armed forces colonel under the protocol. First of all, hardware in the Georgian peacekeeping battalion was replaced, then, in the South Ossetian one," said the minister. In his words, Russian peacekeepers strictly follow their mandate, "of course, it's hard for them in conditions of information pressing."
"The latest informational stir in regard to the Ossetian battalion hardware replacement has calmed down," the minister said.
"The Russian peacekeepers' hardware will be replaced if it turns out defective," the minister said.
The Commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the zone of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict, General Svyatoslav Nabzdorov will be replaced when the Russian side deems it necessary.
"General Nabzdorov obeys orders, regulations and laws of the Russian Federation. In principle, rotation is envisaged [there]. When the replacement is ready and the Russian side deems it necessary to carry it out, then it will be carried out," said the Russian defense minister.
The 1,500-strong joint forces - one battalion from Russia, one from Georgia and one from South Ossetia - took under their control the delimitation line of the parties to the conflict on July 14, 1992. This was the first experience of establishing peacekeeping forces like the UN Blue Helmets in the CIS history.
