If negotiations between Georgia and Russia fail to make progress, Georgia's parliament would take action to force the Russian bases to close by Jan. 1, 2006, Georgian parliamentary speaker Nino Burdzhanadze said Thursday.

When asked if there's any possibility for the two sides to compromise, Burdzhanadze replied: "Till now we haven't seen the Russian government taking any practical steps."

Georgian lawmakers voted unanimously in March for a resolution calling on the government to demand closure of the military bases by Jan. 1, 2006, three years before the deadline the Russians are demanding, if the two sides fail again to agree on a timetable for the Russian pullout by May 15.

The resolution also urged the government to stop issuing visas to Russian military personnel and to limit the movement of Russian troops, vehicles and equipment on Georgian territory before the final closure.

Finance and Environmental Protection Ministries will also be instructed to draw up a bill for financial and ecological damages, which may cost hundreds of millions of US dollars.

Russia's two left-over military bases have been a hot-button issue which keeps souring relations between the two countries. Russia wants four years to complete the pullout of its soldiers from the two bases, while Georgia says it must be finished before January 2008.

Source: Xinhua