Brussels - NATO member states should stop providing arms to
Georgia, as their actions are creating dangerous instability in the
South Caucasus, Russia's top general said Thursday.
'The only decision today which may stop ... a (possible) military
conflict in Georgia is to stop the militarization of Georgia.
Unfortunately, in the past several months and years this has been
growing, and I gave some examples today,' Russia's Chief of Staff
General Yuri Baluyevski said.
'NATO has to take measures in order to prevent arms supplies to
that region,' he added.
During a meeting with NATO national chiefs of staff in Brussels,
Baluyevski named NATO members Turkey, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria
and the United States as countries who are supplying Georgia with
arms, NATO sources said.
He also defended Russia's recent decision to send more troops into
the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, arguing that the number of
troops was still within treaty limitations and that 'thanks to
Russia's peacekeepers, there is no violence between Abkhazia and
Georgia.'
'If there are any proposals that peacekeepers from other
countries, from any European nations go to that region to preserve
peace and minimal stability, we would be happy to accept the
proposal, but that doesn't happen,' Baluyevski said.
Abkhazia fought a war of independence against Georgia in the early
1990s, and has consistently refused to accept Tbilisi's rule. Russia
has maintained troops in the area since 1994.
However, after NATO leaders at an April summit in Bucharest said
that Georgia would one day join the alliance, tensions in the region
worsened dramatically, with Georgia accusing Russia of shooting down
a spy plane over Abkhazia and Russia accusing Georgia of wanting to
start a war in the area.
Baluyevski insisted that Russia was not to blame for the tension,
saying rather that 'first what we need to do is to stop the
militarization of Georgia and stop military supplies going there.'
However, he also said that NATO generals 'treated the issue with a
lot of understanding,' and that he was 'satisfied' with the meeting.
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