Georgia Says Russian Patrols Off Abkhazia Show Military Aims

Posted by Philip Dru on 9/23/09 • Categorized as Georgia, Russia

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) — Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said the start of Russian coast guard patrols in the Black Sea off the separatist Georgian region of Abkhazia shows that Russia’s aim in a 2008 war was to boost its military presence in the area.

The Russian coast guard vessel Novorossiisk began patrolling off Abkhazia, Russian state television reported today, adding that the ship is one of as many of 10 that will be deployed in Abkhaz waters.

Georgia’s U.S.-trained army was routed by Russia in a five- day war in August 2008 over another breakaway Georgian region, South Ossetia. Russia later recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent countries and agreed to defend their borders. Russia has deployed 1,700 troops in each region.

“This once more shows why Russia wanted to occupy the two regions in the first place: to increase its military presence in the future,” Zurab Kachkachishvili, head of the Georgian Foreign Ministry’s political department, told reporters in the capital Tbilisi today.

Kachkachishvili said Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York today and will bring up Russia’s “frequent violations” regarding Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Bloomberg | Helena Bedwell | Monday, September 21, 2009

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