The commandant of Batumi, the capital of Adzharia (a Georgian autonomous republic) demanded that the Group of Russian Forces in the Transcaucasus (GRVZ) stop military drilling Friday.
GRVZ spokesman Kuparadze said the incident had probably occurred because the commandant had thought that the Russians were conducting military exercises at Gonio.
Kuparadze said the drilling had been carried out on the basis of a joint statement issued by the Russian and Georgian foreign ministries on May 30. The statement said that drilling could be carried out using light arms with a maximum 20mm gauge and that vehicles could be driven at the range. On July 13-14, drilling with light arms was held and tanks were driven in Gonio ahead of their withdrawal from Adzharia by September 1, 2005.
The commandant of Batumi must have not known the full content of the statement, Kuparadze said, before adding that the incident had been insignificant because the drilling was almost over by the time the commandant arrived at the shooting range.
"We are drafting a document to require the Georgian ministry to comply with the statement's provisions in future," the spokesman said.
Georgian media reported Friday that military vehicles of the 12th Russian base located in Batumi had been detained on their way to the Gonio shooting range.
Kuparadze did not confirm this information.
There are two Russian military bases, the 12th base in Batumi and the 62nd in Akhalkalaki, and auxiliary units and subunits in Georgia. No less than 40 units, including 20 tanks, will have been withdrawn from Georgia by September 1, 2005.
