SHEVARDNADZE SAYS CIS COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY MUST NOT BECOME AN ALLIANCE.

President Eduard Shevardnadze has added a further condition to the set of conditions which will determine Georgia’s ultimate stance on the CIS Collective Security Treaty. Shevardnadze told a March 10 news conference that Georgia would not accept the creation of a CIS-wide or a regional military alliance on the basis of the collective security treaty. Georgia, he said, would under any circumstances develop military cooperation on a bilateral basis with countries of its choice, regardless of whether they are members of the CIS. The question of accession to NATO “is not topical at this time,” but Georgia will participate in NATO programs and cooperate with Western countries in order to upgrade its forces, the president said (Turan, March 11).

The treaty without an alliance to back it up would remain a purely theoretical document, as it has been since 1992 when the original treaty was signed. Georgia signed it under coercion in 1993, and has set a high price for prolonging its participation when the treaty expires next month. Tbilisi’s stated conditions center on removal of Russian military bases, restitution of Georgia’s due share of the ex-USSR arsenals evacuated unlawfully from Georgian territory, and Russian support (presumably political) to the restoration of Georgia’s territorial integrity (see the Monitor, February 23, 24, March 1, 10).

FUGITIVE SIRADEGHIAN RETAINS GRIP ON PARTY.