Georgia and Russia are expected to reach an agreement on the deadline of Russian military bases' withdrawal from the country next week, Parliament Speaker Nino Burdzhanadze said Friday.

The two former Soviet states will hold talks on the issue next Monday, Burdzhanadze said at a parliament meeting. He also said Russia's latest proposal "is more constructive" than ever before, so they will have a chance to strike a deal at the negotiation table.

Burdzhanadze's remarks came one day after Yury Baluyevsky, chief of general staff of the Russian army, said the bases will be certainly withdrawn to Russian territory, yet some of the military equipment and property will be moved to neighboring Armenia.

The move "will help us to reduce the withdrawal period to four years," Baluyevsky said.

Russia still has two military bases in Georgia after closing another two under an agreement reached in 1999. Moscow has insisted it needs four years to complete the withdrawal while Tbilisi says it must be finished before January 2008.

Since the two sides had failed to reach any agreements before May 15, Georgia declared the Russian bases "in the state of demolition" as of May 16, which triggered a tough reaction from Moscow.

Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, appealed to President Vladimir Putin to recall its ambassador from Tbilisi, stop issuing entry visas to Georgians, and raise prices of energy resources provided for Georgia.

On Wednesday, the Russia Foreign Ministry said the two sides are prepared for fresh talks next week that will focus on a plan envisaging the completion of the bases' withdrawal in 2008.

Source: Xinhua