Moscow/Agency Caucasus – President Dmitri Medvedev of the Russian Federation submitted on October 20 an official agreement of cooperation and friendship with Abkhazia and South Ossetia to the State Duma, lower house of the Federal Assembly, the parliament of the Russian Federation, for approval.
Medvedev recognized the two Caucasian regions as independent states after Georgia launched in early August a military offensive to retake South Ossetia. All three presidents, including Sergei Bagapsh of Abkhazia and Eduard Kokoity of South Ossetia, signed a series of agreements to officialize the cooperation on September 17 in a ceremony in the Kremlin in Moscow.
The Kremlin sources said that Medvedev had asked the parliament to give higher priority to the agreements because of their highly political significance. The key point in the agreements is that which allows Russia to establish military bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia so that it can provide them with a guarantee of security against possible attacks from Georgia. The agreements further stipulate that even the states that do not recognize the two Caucasian republics shall act in the best interests of the Russian, Abkhazian and South Ossetian people. The agreements will remain in effect for a period of 10 years. Unless the parties voice objection, the agreements will automatically be renewed every five years.
KU/ÖZ/FT
