Russia announced on Wednesday that it had deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system in the breakaway Georgian enclave of Abkhazia, a sign that Russian forces were becoming further entrenched in a disputed region at the focal point of Russia’s brief war with Georgia two years ago.
Georgian officials condemned the move, calling it a violation of the peace agreement drawn up at the end of the conflict.
General Aleksandr Zelin, the commander of Russia’s air force, said the system, called the S-300, was deployed to protect Russian military facilities in the enclave and to prevent “violations of government borders,” Russian news services said.
Zelin said different air defense systems had been sent to protect the skies over South Ossetia, another breakaway region that was the epicenter of the 2008 war.
Russia crushed Georgian forces after five days of battle, recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent shortly after the war. Although only Nicaragua, Venezuela and the Pacific island of Nauru have followed suit, Moscow has spent the past two years helping to shore up the governments in the enclaves.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, visited Abkhazia over the weekend to mark the second anniversary of the war, vowing to improve living conditions of Russian troops stationed there.
Georgia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the visit in a statement, calling it an “attempt to destabilize the situation and to escalate tension in the Caucasus region.”
Russia signed a military pact with the separatist Abkhaz government in February, establishing an army base on the territory. The agreement called for the deployment of about 1,700 Russian troops for a minimum of 49 years.
The S-300, called the SA-20 in the West, is one of Russia’s most advanced air defense systems.
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