TBILISI, August 2 (RIA Novosti, Marina Kvaratskhelia) - Russia withdrew 40 units of military hardware from its military base in Batumi (the capital of the autonomous republic of Adjaria, southwestern Georgia) Tuesday.
According to the Georgian Defense Ministry, the hardware, which includes 20 tanks, will be loaded on a Russian Navy assault ship that will make its maiden voyage on August 8.
A total of three assault ships will transport all the military hardware from Russia's base in Batumi in August. In accordance with the agreements signed by the Russian and Georgian defense ministers on May 30, 2005, Russia is to pull out most of its military hardware and equipment from the base before September 1.
The Georgian Defense Ministry said Georgian authorities had given permission to the Russian forces in Transcaucasia for Russian warships to enter Georgia's territorial waters, in particular, the port of Batumi.
