Russia plans warplanes in Georgian rebel region

Russia may base warplanes in Georgia's rebel Abkhazia region in support of a naval base soon to be constructed there, Interfax news agency quoted a Russian official as saying yesterday.

Nato countries expressed concern on Wednesday at reports on Interfax quoting unnamed military sources that Russia planned a naval base in Abkhazia, one of two breakaway regions Georgia seeks to reclaim. There has been no Kremlin confirmation.

"The Bombora airfield is one of the most important military installations on the Black Sea coast and the largest military aerodrome in the south Caucasus," Interfax quoted an anonymous military diplomat as saying.

"To deploy an air force unit there will not need any serious investment, because it already has all the necessary land infrastructure."

During Russia's August war with Georgia, sparked by Tbilisi's attempt to retake another rebel region - South Ossetia - Russia sent its warships to Abkhazia and landed its marines at the site of the projected naval base, Ochamchire. A spokesman for Russia's air forces declined to comment. Abkhaz officials could not be immediately reached.

Russia's Black Sea fleet is currently based at Sevastopol in the Ukraine - a legacy of the breakup of the Soviet Union. Kiev has told Moscow to withdraw when its lease expires in 2017, but Russia hopes to retain the base.

Russia's crushing of Georgian forces in the five-day war raised concerns in the West about a new Russian assertiveness in its traditional sphere of influence and stirred fears for the safety of energy supplies that run through Georgia.

A deepwater Ochamchire base and revival of the airfield, which served as a frontline position in Soviet times, could present an additional concern for Nato strategists worried about an assertive Russia projecting its military strength beyond its borders.

Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Tbilisi's central rule during wars in the 1990s accompanying the collapse of the Soviet Union. Moscow pledged to deploy bases in both regions to protect them from "a repeat of Georgian aggression".

The military diplomat told Interfax Russia would like to deploy around 20 aircraft in Abkhazia, including Sukhoi Su-27 jet fighters, Su-25 ground attack aircraft and military transport planes.

Interfax quoted a source close to Abkhazia's presidential administration as saying local leadership supported plans to host Russian aircraft.

"This is true - the Russian Federation and Abkhazia are in talks on setting up two Russian bases on Abkhaz soil, proceeding from our treaty on friendship and mutual assistance," Kristian Bzhania, spokesman for the Abkhaz separatist leadership, said by telephone from the region's capital Sukhumi.

"The talk is about a naval base in Ochamchire, where a group of Russian Black Sea Fleet warships will be based, and a former airborne troops base in the town of Gudauta," he added.

Abkhazia is close to Nato member Turkey and the Soviet military presence there was a frontline position in the Cold War standoff with the West. Gudauta hosted Soviet paratroopers and later Russian troops after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.