Georgia leader to skip Moscow celebration 5/6/2005, 7:18 p.m. ET By HENRY MEYER The Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) — Georgia's president will stay away from ceremonies in Moscow marking the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat, officials said Friday, a move that further strains ties between the two former Soviet republics.
language=JavaScript1.1 src="http://ads.nj.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/www.nj.com/xml/story/ap/us/i/1103/@StoryAd"></SCRIPT> language=JavaScript></SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> </NOSCRIPT>President Mikhail Saakashvili refused to attend because talks failed to produce an agreement on the closure of Russia's military bases in his country, Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili said.
Zurabishvili, speaking after talks in Moscow with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, said Saakashvili would also skip a Moscow meeting Sunday of leaders of 12 ex-Soviet states.
"Nothing important can be achieved by this trip," Zurabishvili said.
Dozens of world leaders, including President Bush, will mark the anniversary of the Allied victory over the Nazis and pay tribute to the Soviet Union's huge contribution.
The dispute has added to the tension between the countries that has grown since Georgia gained independence in the 1991 Soviet collapse. Ties have soured further since Saakashvili and his pro-Western administration came to power last year.
Russia has accused Georgia of harboring militants who fight across the border in Chechnya, and Georgia has accused Russia of fomenting instability by supporting two separatist Georgian regions.
The outspoken Saakashvili said earlier Friday that "the occupation of Georgia must end."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko criticized Georgia for linking the base dispute to the Victory Day celebrations. The ministry said Russia is determined to reach an agreement but that it will require "efforts by both sides."
Bush has said he would bring up the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two men meet — as Saakashvili has asked — but that the dispute needed to be resolved between Russia and Georgia.
Russia wants four years to complete the pullout of its soldiers from two Russian military bases left over from the Soviet era, while Georgia says it must be finished before January 2008 — less than three years.
Zurabishvili and Lavrov agreed earlier this month that Russia may begin pulling out troops this year. A central concern for Russian officials is accommodating the more than 3,000 military personnel who serve on the bases.
Military personnel who returned to Russia following the withdrawal of forces from Germany and other European countries caused widespread turmoil in the Russian defense establishment, with some officers and their families being housed in miserable conditions.
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