From: MSN Nicknamepsychoteddybear24 (Original Message) Sent: 6/3/2008 11:18 AM
Medvedev discusses Abkhazia with Georgia
Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:50am EDT
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discussed Moscow’s support for the Georgian rebel region of Abkhazia with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Abkhazia, a separatist region high up in the mountains above the Black Sea, is at the centre of a bitter row between Moscow and Tbilisi over Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO and Russian support for its rebel regions.
Georgia, which asked for the telephone call with Medvedev, had accused Russia of trying to annex its territory and demanded Moscow recall unarmed soldiers who were sent to rebuild rail routes damaged in a war at the start of the 1990s.
“During the discussions, the question of Russian help to reconstruct railway lines in Abkhazia and the use of Russian Railway troop units for these aims were touched upon,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“The necessary explanations were given on this matter.”
Medvedev and Saakashvili agreed to continue their discussions at a meeting later this week on the sidelines of an economic forum in Russia’s northern city of St Petersburg, the Kremlin said.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Ralph Boulton)
