MOSCOW — Russia signed a deal with Georgia’s two breakaway regions Thursday giving Moscow the power to guard their borders — a move sharply criticized.
President Dmitry Medvedev and the leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia signed the agreements at a Kremlin ceremony nearly nine months after the brief war between Russia and Georgia.
The deal is an apparent attempt to legitimize the presence of thousands of Russian troops in the separatist regions, which were at the center of the war.
Russia will guard the borders of both regions including Abkhazia’s territorial waters in the Black Sea, the agreement says.
The U.S. and European Union consider this a violation of a truce, which required all forces to pull back to positions held before the fighting in August.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili condemned the deal.
"You cannot legalize something that is ... illegal,” he said. "It is very dangerous to everybody, including Russia.”
by the associated press
President Dmitry Medvedev and the leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia signed the agreements at a Kremlin ceremony nearly nine months after the brief war between Russia and Georgia.
The deal is an apparent attempt to legitimize the presence of thousands of Russian troops in the separatist regions, which were at the center of the war.
Russia will guard the borders of both regions including Abkhazia’s territorial waters in the Black Sea, the agreement says.
The U.S. and European Union consider this a violation of a truce, which required all forces to pull back to positions held before the fighting in August.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili condemned the deal.
"You cannot legalize something that is ... illegal,” he said. "It is very dangerous to everybody, including Russia.”
by the associated press
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