Russia plans 7,600-strong force in Georgia enclaves

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s military plans to station a total of 7,600 servicemen at bases in Georgia’s South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Tuesday.Briefing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on negotiations with the regions’ leaders, Serdyukov said: “We have already agreed on the contingent — in the region of 3,800 men in each republic — (and on) its structure and location.”

Medvedev ordered Serdyukov to determine how Russia would implement a request from South Ossetia and Abkhazia “to deploy bases” in those regions.