Moscow and Tbilisi are close to a deal on the withdrawal of Russian army bases in Georgia that have long soured relations between the two neighbours, the Kremlin said today.
A Kremlin statement said Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili phoned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss a time-scale for the withdrawal of the bases, which Saakashvili has likened to occupation.
"The Russian president emphasised the importance of reaching a compromise over the time-scale, as Russia and Georgia have almost done, taking into account the requirements of ensuring an organised and civilised withdrawal," the statement said.
NATO-hopeful Georgia has demanded Russia pull out in 2008, but Moscow has said it needs more time to arrange logistics and financing for new sites for the withdrawn soldiers.
Recent weeks have seen the dispute heat up, with Georgia's parliament demanding the bases be blockaded if a deal was not reached. Russia's parliament responded by saying diplomatic ties should be broken if the bases were threatened.
Georgian parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze, a close Saakashvili ally, said 10 days ago Russia was moving closer to Georgia's demand that troops leave in 2008.
Russia pulled out of a base near Tbilisi under a deal signed in Istanbul in 1999, but has dragged its feet over the other two bases near the border with NATO-member Turkey.