During an hour-long meeting between Deputy Commander of the Russian Land Forces Valery Yevnevich and Georgian Deputy Chief of General Staff Alexander Kiknadze, both sides finally solved the problem of issuing Georgian visas to Russian military personnel.
"At present, all technical issues that arose yesterday have been solved. A spoken agreement has been reached on the issuance of entry and exit visas," Sergei Dubrovin, acting commander of the Russian military contingent in the Trans-Caucasus, told a news conference.
According to Dubrovin, after the issuance of visas Friday, a military convoy from the 12th military base in Batumi will start moving toward the Russian border Saturday.
"All permits necessary for the withdrawal of military equipment have been already issued by various Georgian state bodies. Russian military officials have to come to the Georgian Justice Ministry and take the prepared documents," Georgian Deputy Defense Minister David Sikharulidze told a news conference.
"All obstacles to the withdrawal of the Russian military convoy Friday have been removed," he added.
He also said Georgian authorities issued all the necessary permits for entry to the port of Batumi by the Russian Navy's large amphibious ships in mid-August to withdraw heavy military equipment from the local Russian base.
The headquarters with all its equipment will be transported by rail to the Russian regions of the Northern Caucasus.
