Russia beefs up Abkhazia defence

12 August 2009

Russia is to spend almost $500m (£300m) next year reinforcing its military bases in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, the prime minister says.
Vladimir Putin's announcement came as he was due to visit Abkhazia for talks.
He said Russia was committed to defending and financing the small strip of land in Georgia's north-west corner.
Moscow officially recognised the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia following the war a year ago between Russia and Georgia.
Apart from Russia only Nicaragua recognised the regions' independence in the conflict's aftermath; both areas are still widely held to remain part of Georgia.
Russian citizenship
Mr Putin said Russia would deploy more forces in Abkhazia and build a "modern border-guard system" to guarantee the security of the two breakaway regions.
"All this will cost about 15-16bn rubles [$463m; £280m]," he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency ahead of Wednesday's visit.
Moscow is rapidly establishing facts on the ground in Abkhazia following last year's war, says the BBC's Richard Galpin in the region's main city, Sukhumi.
The bulk of the money will be spent on military bases and strengthening the border between Abkhazia and Georgia, says our correspondent. source: bbc.com

Posted by News Point at 4:08 AM  
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