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Article: Grim expectations
- Article from:
- International Herald Tribune
- Article date:
- August 14, 2009
- Author:
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Oksana Antonenko
International Herald Tribune
08-14-2009
Grim expectations
Byline: Oksana Antonenko
Type: News
Prospects for peace in the South Caucasus are as bleak as any time since the Soviet Union's fall.
During his visit on Wednesday to Abkhazia -- Georgia's break- away state recognized as independent by Moscow after the war ended a year ago -- Vladimir Putin promised to spend around $465 million (roughly twice the size of Abkhazia's G.D.P.) to build Russian military bases on its soil and to fortify its "border" with Georgia.
Russia's defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, who accompanied Prime Minister Putin, said that Moscow will station 3,600 troops in Abkhazia, where 1,000 ...