Armenia will be in the middle
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has appealed to the Georgian parliament with a proposal to cancel the 2006 Russian-Georgian agreement that regulated the transfer of personnel and military cargo to Russian military bases abroad.
Commenting on the president's initiative, Chair of the Georgian parliamentary committee on defense and security affairs Irakli Kavtaradze announced that the agreement is about to expire and that it is simply nonsensical to extend the agreement amidst the current relations between Georgia and Russia.
Alexander Golts, who is one of Russia's leading military experts, says it is clear that the aim of this initiative is to complicate the transfer of personnel and military cargo to the military base in Gyumri. "Allow me to recall that the Russian army is replenished on the basis of recruitment. This means that the personnel is changed in Gyumri once every six months. If that is not possible, the military base faces serious difficulties."
According to him, Russia has several alternatives that will allow the country to ensure ongoing supply to the military base.
"There are many options. We can supply through the aerial territory of another country. The other option is to have large resources in Gyumri," Golts mentioned.
Next week, the Georgian parliamentary committee on defense and security affairs will discuss Saakashvili's proposal, after which the issue will be put up for a discussion during the plenary session.
