Abkhazia signs deal with Kremlin on Russian base on its soil | Top Russian news and analysis online | ‘RIA Novosti’ newswire: “The presidents of Abkhazia and Russia signed a deal on Wednesday allowing a Russian military base in the former Georgian republic for 50 years, despite fierce criticism from Tbilisi and Western nations.
The deal was signed during Kremlin talks between President Dmitry Medvedev and his Abkhazian counterpart, Sergei Bagapsh, who arrived in Moscow on Tuesday on the first visit since his reelection as president of the tiny region on the Black Sea.
According to the agreement, the base will ‘protect Abkhazia’s sovereignty and security, including against international terrorist groups.’
Russia has maintained a 1,700-strong force in Abkhazia with its headquarters in Gudauta, a former Soviet military base on the Black Sea coast north of the capital, Sukhumi, under a September 2009 agreement on military cooperation.”