By empty (12/15/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
PRIVATE Georgia considers it acceptable for the Russian troops in the Transcaucasus to be redeployed in Armenia, but it is opposed to the restationing of Russian military hardware and weapons in this country, Georgian Deputy Defence Minister Gela Bezhuashvili told Prime-News when commenting on the Russian troops' intention to relocate gradually to Armenia, which became known during the experts' consultations held in Tbilisi. The restationing of the hardware and weapons in Armenia may trigger further increase in tension between Baku and Yerevan, Bezhuashvili said. "Georgia will find itself in a difficult situation with Azerbaijan if the Russian military hardware from Georgia ends up in Armenia," Bezhuashvili said.The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst has brought cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.
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