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Russia says trying to exit Georgia, Moldova
Brussels, Dec 05: Russia, responding to US criticism, said Moscow was doing its best to pull troops and weapons out of Georgia and Moldova in the face of political problems in the two former Soviet states.
Brussels, Dec 05: Russia, responding to US criticism, said Moscow was doing its best to pull troops and weapons out of Georgia and Moldova in the face of political problems in the two former Soviet states.
But Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov bristled at western nations for holding up ratification of a treaty limiting conventional forces in Europe because of the Russian military presence.
''We will withdraw, we will continue our withdrawal,'' he told reporters yesterday after meeting Nato Foreign Ministers. ''It's simply a question that we can't have a strict timetable for any of this.''
US Secretary of State Colin Powell issued a thinly veiled warning to Russia this week not to back Georgia's breakaway regions amid instability in the country after last month's bloodless revolution. He also expressed regret that Russia had not fulfilled commitments to withdraw forces and huge stocks of ammunition from Moldova by the end of this year.
Western nations argue that until Russian forces are pulled back from the two countries they cannot ratify an amended version of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, which was signed in the dying days of the Cold War.
The treaty limits the number of battle tanks, heavy artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters deployed and stored between the Atlantic Ocean and Russia's Ural mountains.
Russia is anxious for the adapted CFE to be ratified so that the three Baltic states, which are due to join Nato at a summit in Istanbul next June, can sign up to it. Some Russian officials fear these states could become Nato outposts for nuclear arms or army bases. Bureau Report
US Secretary of State Colin Powell issued a thinly veiled warning to Russia this week not to back Georgia's breakaway regions amid instability in the country after last month's bloodless revolution. He also expressed regret that Russia had not fulfilled commitments to withdraw forces and huge stocks of ammunition from Moldova by the end of this year.
Western nations argue that until Russian forces are pulled back from the two countries they cannot ratify an amended version of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, which was signed in the dying days of the Cold War.
The treaty limits the number of battle tanks, heavy artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters deployed and stored between the Atlantic Ocean and Russia's Ural mountains.
Russia is anxious for the adapted CFE to be ratified so that the three Baltic states, which are due to join Nato at a summit in Istanbul next June, can sign up to it. Some Russian officials fear these states could become Nato outposts for nuclear arms or army bases. Bureau Report