He wants the Gonio grounds vacated by next spring. The area is a popular tourist destination, he says, and the unseemly sight of Russian materiel may discourage holidaymakers from coming.
Speaking Thursday at a Cabinet session in Adzharia's capital, Batumi, Saakashvili said he had instructed Defense Minister Georgy Baramidze to discuss the issue with Russian counterparts.
"Russia's Defense Ministry has handed several facilities over to us in a civilized fashion, and we would like it to transfer the Gonio firing range in the same civilized way by next spring," the Georgian leader pointed out.
The Gonio range will not be taken over by Georgia's Defense Ministry, but will be returned to the Adzharian people, Saakashvili assured. Tourist facilities will be constructed at the site, he said.
Two Russian military bases-at Gudaut, in Abkhazia, and at Vaziani, outside the Georgian capital, Tbilisi-were closed down back in 2001, in keeping with resolutions of the Istanbul Summit. There are two more bases left-in Batumi and at Akhaltsikhe. The sides now hold regular consultations to agree on the timeframe and the procedure of pulling them out. Georgian government officials insist that the bases be withdrawn within three years' time. But Russia says the process will take at least eleven years.
The Gonio firing range belongs to the Batumi base and, according to effective regulations, may not be handed over to Georgia before the base itself is pulled out.
