This announcement is no great surprise.

Russian bases to stay in separatist regions
Article from: Agence France-Presse
From correspondents in Moscow
October 22, 2008 06:04am
.....
RUSSIA will establish permanent military bases in the Georgian separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abhazia next year, the chief of the Russian general staff said today.

"I think it will take us at least a year to set up these bases so that they fully meet our aims," General Nikolai Makarov told the Interfax news agency.

He was speaking on his return from Helsinki where he had met his US counterpart Admiral Michael Mullen. ....
....
Under the cooperation and mutual assistance agreements with South Ossetia and Abkhazia Russia has undertaken to defend their borders with the rest of Georgia.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...005961,00.html

There is NO evidence from US sources that any sort of "deal" was struck between the US and Russia at Helsinki.

Makarov's comment reported by Reuters (below) is a bit ambiguous: "We found an understanding on those reasons that have led to a cooling in relations between Russia and the United States." I believe this means that they agreed as what their disagreements were.

The Mullen-Makarov meeting was reported yesterday by Helsingin Sanomat, the New York Times and Reuters, among others.

HELSINGIN SANOMAT
INTERNATIONAL EDITION - TRAVEL
21.10.2008
Leaders of US and Russian armed forces hold meeting in Finland
Military chiefs discuss Georgia and US missile defence
.....
Leaders of the military forces of the United States and Russia met in Finland for talks on Tuesday. According to US officials, the aim of the meeting, which had been kept a secret until Tuesday, was to improve bilateral relations between the great powers.

According to the New York Times newspaper, the two sides wanted to meet on neutral soil. Taking part in the meeting was Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Russian colleague, General Nikolai Makarov.
.....
Hosting the meeting was Finland’s Chief of Defence Juhani Kaskeala, who met the two guests for lunch. The meeting was held at the Königstedt Manor in Vantaa. .... “Finland has been given a butler’s role in this”, said an anonymous source to Helsingin Sanomat. ... The meeting concluded at 2:00 PM on Tuesday.
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Lea.../1135240416668

NY Times
Top Military Officers Talk in U.S.-Russia Conference
By THOM SHANKER
Published: October 21, 2008
.....
HELSINKI, Finland — The United States and Russia sent their top military officers to this neutral capital, with its resonant legacy of cold-war-era talks, for a secretly arranged meeting on Tuesday to try to push their strained relations back on track, American officials said.
....
The admiral said he and General Makarov had discussed American disquiet over the war in Georgia — Russia’s first post-Soviet offensive outside its soil — as well as Russian unhappiness with the arrival of American warships in the Black Sea with humanitarian aid for Georgia.

Other topics included NATO’s relations with Russia and how to improve cooperation on countering terrorism, halting the proliferation of unconventional weapons and stemming narcotics trafficking.

Admiral Mullen offered no details of those discussions but said that he and his counterpart had pledged to continue talking. .....
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/wo.../22mullen.html

U.S., Russian military chiefs meet in Helsinki
Tue Oct 21, 6:18 pm ET
....
HELSINKI (Reuters) – U.S. and Russian military chiefs met on Tuesday for the first time since Russian troops crushed the forces of America's ally Georgia in a war that has strained relations between the two countries.

The U.S. Embassy in Helsinki said Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met Russian General Nikolai Makarov, head of the Russian general staff.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the talks did not mean the Pentagon, which put all aspects of its ties with Russia under review after the Georgia conflict in August, had resumed normal relations with Moscow. ...
....
Makarov told Russian news agencies that he had spoken to Mullen for about two hours and that a range of issues, including Georgia, had been discussed.

"During the meetings, we agreed that on key questions of a military character we shall periodically hold dialogue by telephone and, when needed, personal meetings, which I think will acquire a regular and structured character," RIA news agency quoted Makarov saying.

"We found an understanding on those reasons that have led to a cooling in relations between Russia and the United States," he said. Discussions had been "open and honest." .....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081021/...ia_usa_meeting