Russian Minister Against Military Negotiations with Georgia Taking Political Turn

"There should be no politics" in discussing military issues, Russian Minister of Industry and Science and Russia's representative at the 8th round of Russian-Georgian military negotiations Ilya Klebanov believes.

"Unfortunately, we cannot do entirely without politics," Klebanov noted at a press conference following the negotiations.

At the same time the minister believes the situation has radically changed after the first round which was more political. "Today politics has retreated into the background, but it would be better to exclude it," Klebanov noted.

Commenting on the outcomes of the negotiations he noted that "it was the usual routine work." At the same time, the very fact that the sides agreed to negotiate was "a step forward." "However, signs of distrust remain which hampers an open dialogue," the minister added.

The negotiations failed to bring any changes to the operating schedule of the Russian Ahalkalaki and Batumi bases. However, "significant progress has been made" on Russia's handing over six facilities to Georgia. So far, all the transfer documents have been submitted to the Government, the minister reported. "We are waiting for its decision on the issue," Klebanov noted.

He added that the dates for the next meeting had not been discussed yet.