"As part of concluded treaties, two bases, one in Abkhazia, the other in South Ossetia, with 3,700 personnel at each, are designed first of all to protect our interests and the interests of these republics," Army General Nikolai Makarov told journalists.
"The bases have been created, but the process of setting them up will be completed in 2009," he said.
Russia launched a five-day military operation to "force Georgia to accept peace" after Georgian troops attacked breakaway South Ossetia on August 8, killing a number of Russian peacekeepers and hundreds of civilians.
Russia's response to the Georgian attack was labeled disproportionate by a number of Western powers. On August 26, Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.
The two republics broke away from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s amid armed conflicts that claimed thousands of lives.
In accordance with an EU-brokered peace deal, Russia withdrew its forces from undisputed parts of Georgia ahead of an October 10 deadline. The peacekeepers were replaced by the EU monitoring mission in Georgia.
