Russian Defense Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, and his counterparts from breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia signed treaties on military cooperation in Moscow on September 15, the Russian news agencies reported.

According to the agreements headquarters of the Russian military bases in those regions will be based in Gudauta in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali in South Ossetia, Interfax reported.

Russia will have 1,700 servicemen in each of the region, according to this report.

“This is the first step [in cooperation] between our ministries. Number of other agreements on military and military-technical cooperation will be signed in the nearest future,” RIA Novosti reported quoting Anatoly Serdyukov.