TBILISI, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia's Defense Ministry voiced its approval Tuesday for Russia's decision to complete an ahead-of-schedule withdrawal of its two Soviet-era military bases in the Caucasus country, as a train carrying the last batch of hardware from one of the bases left Georgia.
Under an agreement signed by Russia and Georgia on March 31, Russian troops and military hardware are to leave the bases in the southern city of Akhalkalaki and the western city of Batumi by 2008.
General Andrei Popov, Russia's chief military commander in the South Caucasus, said a total of 727 units of hardware and 2626.6 metric tons of arms, ammunition, and general equipment had left Georgia for bases in Russia and Armenia since the beginning of this year.
"The 2006 plan for the withdrawal of Russian bases from Georgia can be considered 100% implemented," Popov said.
