TBILISI, June 21 (RIA Novosti) - A train carrying military hardware left a Russian base in Georgia early Thursday as part of a 2006 deal on the withdrawal of Russian bases from the ex-Soviet Caucasus state, the Georgian Defense Ministry said.
The train is carrying military hardware, including 12 Grad MLRS and 13 BRDM-2 armored vehicles, from the Batumi base on the Black Sea to Russia via Azerbaijan. More military hardware will be removed from Batumi each week until August 2007. The next train will depart June 28, the statement said.
Under an agreement between the former Soviet allies, Russia must complete the removal of its bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki, in the south, by the end of 2008.
Russia completed the pullout of its military garrison from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, handing over control of its headquarters to Georgia's Defense Ministry last December.
