Russian Foreign Ministry comments on agreement with Georgia

Russia and Georgia have "absolutely different" approaches to the settlementof a debt problem within the framework of preparations of a new agreementon friendship and cooperation between the two countries, Boris Malakhov,deputy official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, declaredcommenting on the statement of Irakliy Menagarishvili, Georgian ForeignMinister, who earlier had said that Moscow had agreed to discuss the debtproblem concerning weapon arsenals of the Soviet Union's Armed Forceslocated in Georgia and transported to Russia after the collapse of theUSSR. The Georgian Foreign Minister said that Russia was ready to considerthis problem within preparations of a new framework agreement. According toMalakhov, "the parties are submitting different proposals during theprocess of elaboration on the Russian-Georgian framework agreement". Hepointed out that "the Georgian party has really raised the question" ofdebt commitments. .