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Russian parliament ratifies agreement on joint Russia-Abkhazia group of forces

The grouping is intended to "adequately respond to an armed attack (aggression), and also to other military security threats posed to any of the parties"

© Vladimir Popov/ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. The State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, has ratified an agreement on a joint Russian-Abkhazian group of forces.

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The document was submitted by the Russian president.

The agreement that defines the goals, the procedure of forming, deploying and using the joint grouping of the Armed Forces of Russia and Abkhazia was signed in Moscow on November 21, 2015.

The grouping is intended to "adequately respond to an armed attack (aggression), and also to other military security threats posed to any of the parties," the explanatory note says.

The document envisages that Russia and Abkhazia will organize and carry out joint measures pursuant to joint directives of the General Staffs of both countries.

Russia’s component of the joint grouping includes the Russian military base on the territory of Abkhazia while Abkhazia’s component comprises two separate motor rifle battalions, an artillery and aviation groups, and also a special task force.

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Russian military bases abroad

In the peacetime, an operational group comprising representatives of both sides will be in charge of interaction among military units included in the joint grouping. The commander of the Russian military base in Abkhazia will be the head of this operational group.

"In the period of the immediate threat of an aggression and in wartime, the troops of the joint grouping will be directly subordinated to the commander of the joint grouping who is appointed by the Russian Defense Ministry," the accompanying materials say.

As Head of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Contacts with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov said, the agreement "provides the common fundamentals of the Russian-Abkhazian defense and security space."

‘Its ratification meets the interests of Russia, contributes to strengthening state sovereignty, helps ensure the territorial integrity of Russia, taking into account new global and regional challenges and threats," the Duma committee head said.

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