After inking Treaties with Dmitry Medvedev, center, Sergei Bagapsh, left, and Eduard Kokoity congratulated each other with historic event.
Photo: Alexander Miridonov
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Russia to Represent South Ossetia, Abkhazia
Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev, South Ossetia’s President Eduard Kokoity and Abkhazia’s President Sergei Bagapsh signed in the Kremlin yesterday the Treaties on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. Pursuant to the documents, Russia will stand for the interests of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the states, where the latter have no diplomatic missions. Russia may station military bases in these two republics and provide military aid to them should the peace be threatened there.
The presidents sealed the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin September 17, 2008. In addition to President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev and Health and Social Development Minister Tatiana Golikova.
“It is certainly the historic event,” Medvedev declared, specifying that Russia will provide aid to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, including the military assistance. Russia’s president also made clear that they would soon ink specific agreements, including the customs, frontier, economic, security and counter-terrorism ones.
Under the yesterday’s treaties, the parties will cooperate in external and internal policy, defend territorial integrity, provide military assistance if the peace is threatened in one of them and station military bases on their soil.
The last provision was the highlight of the speeches of South Ossetia’s President Eduard Kokoity and Abkhazia’s President Sergei Bagapsh. Those presidents were sure that the military bases would appear in their countries in the nearest term.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 18, 2008
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