During his visit on Wednesday to Abkhazia — Georgia’s break-away state recognized as independent by Moscow after the war ended a year ago — Vladimir Putin promised to spend around $465 million (roughly twice the size of Abkhazia’s G.D.P.) to build Russian military bases on its soil and to fortify its “border” with Georgia.
Russia’s defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, who accompanied Prime Minister Putin, said that Moscow will station 3,600 troops in Abkhazia, where 1,000 Russian border guards are already deployed.
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