As the parliament's chairman told the Novosti-Georgia information agency on Monday, there is no alternative to the pullout of the Russian military bases. "The presence of the Russian bases in Georgia in the existing format is inexpedient both from the point of view of international relations and for the internal processes and the country's political development," Tsereteli said.
In his opinion, concrete moves by the Russian side in this direction will become a basis for improvement of Georgian-Russian relations.
If the Moscow representatives do not change their position and keep explaining it by technical and financial difficulties in order to protract the process for an uncertain period of time they will make a mistake, Tsereteli believes.
Last Friday the Georgian Foreign Ministry circulated a statement by director of the information and public relations department of the Ministry, Temur Mikeladze. The document notes, in particular, that "with a view to normalizing and further developing bilateral relations, the Georgian side is ready to make maximal efforts to resolve the amassed problems, specifically on the question of withdrawal of the Russian military bases from Georgia's territory."
On the day before, deputy director of the information and press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Boris Malakhov told journalists that the time of withdrawal of the Russian military bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki can be reduced "in case of proper additional financing from external sources."
e ergian side is insistin g ioThe Georgian side is insisting on pullout of the bases within three years, while the Russian side speaks of a possibility to withdraw them within eleven years.
