Russia has offered to complete the withdrawal of its troops from Georgia in four years in response to threats that its bases will be blockaded if it does not speed up the process, officials in Tbilisi were quoted by dpa as saying on Friday. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and his national security council were examining the Russian proposal. According to latest estimations, the Russian forces comprise some 4,500 soldiers with 115 tanks and 175 artillery pieces. Many of the troops are however thought to be locally enlisted Georgians commanded by Russian officers. The issue has clouded relations in recent weeks, although in early May Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov agreed in principle on a phased withdrawal by 2008. That agreement was subsequently rejected by the Russian military, which said it was too soon. Georgia then threatened to declare the bases closed by the end of the year if it did not quickly receive a realistic timetable. -- SP 2345 Local Time 2045 GMT
