Russia to build naval base in breakaway Georgian region

SpaceWar.com reports: “Russia will set up a naval base on the Black Sea coast of a separatist region in Georgia, its leader said in an interview Thursday, after mounting Ukrainian attacks on Russian warships.

The announcement from the leader of the breakaway region of Abkhazia came on the back of several attacks on Russia’s Black Sea fleet that have embarrassed the Kremlin.

Tensions have escalated on the key waterway since July, when Russia exited a deal guaranteeing safe passage for cargo ships to and from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

‘We have signed an agreement, and in the near future there will be a permanent point of deployment for the Russian navy in the Ochamchire district,’ Abkhazia’s separatist leader Aslan Bzhania told pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia in an interview published Thursday.

He said the aim of the deal was to ‘increase the defence capability both of Russia and Abkhazia’ and added that ‘this kind of cooperation will continue, because this safeguards the fundamental interests of both Abkhazia and Russia. And security is above all’.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unable to comment.

‘Questions related to the deployment of our troops and our ships — these are for the defence ministry,’ he told reporters…”

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