Abkhazia is interested in accommodating Russian military bases

In the near future, an agreement will be signed defining the mandate of the Russian military base in Abkhazia, as Sergey Shamba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia, said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, having emphasized the interest of the Abkhazian party.

Mr Shamba has noted that many meetings at different levels took place on the issue of accommodation of military bases in Abkhazia. "There are oral arrangements, and the process of coordination goes all the time, we can say, on the daily basis. The agreement is now being drafted to define the legal status of the Russian base in Abkhazia. Hope that in the near future the agreement will be signed," he added.

"We are interested to have Russian military bases here, as we see them as the only reliable guarantee of our safety," Minister Shamba has stated.

Besides, according to his story, Abkhazia is interested to have Russian frontier guards on its borders, as it will make possible to have in future a much more transparent border with the Krasnodar Territory along Psou River, which also responds to economic interests of Abkhazia.

In spite of the fact that the military agreement between Abkhazia and Russia it is not signed yet, a certain staff of Russian militaries is already present in Abkhazia. According to Sergey Shamba, it was caused by the August events of 2008.