MOSCOW – Only Russia and the “states” of South Ossetia and Abkhazia will decide how many troops Moscow can keep on their soil, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said yesterday, signaling the Kremlin will do as it pleases in the separatist Georgian regions regardless of Western demands.
The statement was in defiance of calls by Georgia, the United States and the European Union for a withdrawal of most Russian troops from the breakaway territories, which only Russia and Nicaragua have recognized as independent nations.
Thumbing its nose at Georgia and the United States, South Ossetia rolled what Russian media said were captured American-made Jeeps and Georgian tanks through the streets of its capital in an Independence Day military parade.
The developments underscored the reality taking shape in the wake of last month's war. Putin stressed that Russia will adhere to its promise to pull back from land surrounding South Ossetia and Abkhazia once European Union monitors are deployed. Those areas are Georgian territory, he said. But he said a “possible” Russian pullout from South Ossetia and Abkhazia themselves was a “separate issue.”
