Russia pulls armour from Abkhazia

President Shevardnadze: Pledged to restore Abkhazia to Georgia

TBILISI, Georgia -- Russia has pulled out military equipment from its base in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, sparking protests by local authorities.

Abhazian separatists fear the move will leave them open to possible Georgian attacks.

"We were against the base's liquidation. From the psychological point of view, the populace saw it as a security factor," Abkhazia's Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba told The Associated Press news agency.

Abkhazia is within Georgia but has been controlled by Russian-leaning separatists since 1993.

Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in the troubled Caucasian province since 1994.

Some 300,000 ethnic Georgians fled Abkhazia during the 1992-93 war and many have been urging the government to take military action that would allow them to return.

For his part Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has said that he intends to restore Abkhazia to Georgia before leaving office.

Presidential elections are due in 2005 but there have been suggestions the 73-year old former Soviet Union foreign minister will step down in favour of a groomed successor.

"The main goal to achieve before the end of my term as president is reconstructing Georgia's territorial integrity," he recently on national radio.

On Friday Abkhazian authorities delayed the departure of a train loaded with equipment from the Gudauta base, which according to Abkhazia's deputy Defence Minister Givi Agrba included 4 Buk anti-aircraft missile systems, 30 armoured vehicles and ammunition.

Abkhazians insisted the equipment should be handed over to their armed forces, but the train was later allowed to leave, Shamba told the Associated Press.

Russia agreed to withdraw from the old Soviet base in Gudauta in 1999 but missed the July 1 deadline because of Abkhazian protests in which residents blocked roads and demanded the Russians' weapons.

Moscow says it is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the area.

But Georgia has insisted on the Russian withdrawal -- the Georgian parliament recently calling for Moscow to withdraw its troops.

Tbilisi fears that Moscow only wants to keep a foothold in the region and has helped the Abkhazian separatists.

The pullout is not a complete one. Despite the movement of armour, 500 to 600 Russian troops will stay in Gudauta to provide security for Russian military installations there.

The base itself will be used to serve the peacekeepers enforcing a shaky Georgian-Abkhazian truce, Agrba said.

Abkhazia recently was the site of clashes between local forces and a group of Chechen and ethnic Georgian guerrillas who infiltrated the region.

It was they who were accused of shooting down a helicopter carrying United Nations observers and killing 14 villagers.

Moscow was sharply critical of Tbilisi in the case, blaming Georgia for allegedly allowing separatist Chechen militants to pass through its territory.