RUSSIA: Russia has vowed to shut its two military bases in neighbouring Georgia and pull out about 3,000 troops in 2008 in a breakthrough deal that should end a dispute that has poisoned ties for years.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the move after months of rising tension between Moscow and Tbilisi, whose new pro-Western government compares the presence of Russian troops at the two Soviet- era bases as an "occupation".
"The final withdrawal will be completed in 2008," Mr Lavrov told journalists after talks in Moscow with Georgian counterpart Salome Zurabishvili.
Mr Lavrov said he and Ms Zurabishvili had signed a joint communique covering main stages of the phased withdrawal - something the Georgian side wanted to see before striking a final deal.
On the face of it, the agreement appeared a success for the leadership of Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili who came to power after a pro-Western "Rose Revolution" in December 2003.
The issue of bases is one of several to have strained relations between Russia and its small southern neighbour since Georgia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Georgia has accused Moscow of backing separatist leaderships in two of its provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia has in the past accused Georgia of allowing Chechen guerrillas to operate from its border territory.
Georgia, which aspires to Nato membership, had pushed its former Soviet overlord to close the two bases, which are leftovers from the days of Soviet power, in 2009. But Moscow had resisted, saying it needed more time to arrange logistics and financing for re-stationing its returning forces.
Both bases are close to the border with NATO member Turkey. Mr Lavrov said the Akhalkalaki base would be closed first, followed by that near the Black Sea port of Batumi.
"I believe we achieved a very constructive and important step today. We reached the goal we were working for," Ms Zurabishvili, standing alongside Mr Lavrov, said. "We would want to see this as a staged process which would ultimately lead to the full closure of the Russian bases in Georgia."
The argument had heated up in recent weeks. Mr Saakashvili boycotted lavish second World War victory celebrations in Moscow on May 9th over the issue and Georgia's parliament had been calling for the bases to be blockaded if Russia did not agree on a withdrawal schedule.
Russia's parliament had responded by saying diplomatic ties should be broken if the bases were threatened.
Russia pulled out of a base near Tbilisi under a deal signed in Istanbul in 1999, but had dragged its feet over the bases in Akhalkalaki and Batumi.
