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Russia Dodges the European Threat
// PACE left Russia its vote
The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly passed a resolution yesterday on the consequences of the war between Russia and Georgia. Although its text is strongly worded, Russia was at least able to neutralize the main threat. The amendment automatically depriving the Russian delegation of it vote in the PACE unless it annuls its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia was removed. Kommersant special correspondent Mikhail Zygar observed how the European delegates went after Russia any way.
Problem 45
Yesterday morning, for the first time in this PACE session, there were two demonstrations going on simultaneously across from the Palace of Europe. People waving South Ossetian flags and people waving Georgian flags shared one tiny space, separated only by a flimsy metal barrier. The French police watched them closely, but they were unable to fulfill their peacekeeping function successfully. After standing side by side for several hours, the demonstrators first began to argue and then, after Russian State Duma member Sergey Markov came out to join the Ossetians, the invective became stronger and Markov and a film crew from Rossiya television were whistled down. The culmination of the incident was the stealing of a South Ossetian flag by the Georgians. As a result, the French police had to break the meeting up.
Passions were running equally high inside the palace. The session began with reporter for Russia Luc Van den Brande and reporter for Georgia Matyas Eorsi presenting their draft resolution.
Shortly before that, the reporters had become the topic of discussion in the corridors of the assembly. Deputy head of the Russian delegation Leonid Slutsky unexpectedly mentioned in a conversation with journalists that Van den Brande, one of the most respected members of the PACE and leader of the European People’s Party faction there, is among the main contenders for secretary general of the Council of Europe in next year’s election. Slutsky was hinting that Van den Brande would not be likely to insist on sanctions against Russia because he will need Russian support in his pursuit of higher office. Georgian journalists even attacked Van den Brande with questions about whether he watered down the text of the resolution to please Russia. The Belgian was clearly insulted and said that he does not suck up to anyone.
The final resolution turned out rather contradictory. It states that the minimal requirement for beginning a dialog is the annulment of Russia’s recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the admission of EU and OSCE observers to the republics. But the text contains no direct mention of possible sanctions against Russia.
Cypriote Christos Pourgourides, a longtime critic of Russia, tried to cover that gap. His proposed Amendment 45 would have made the PACE deprive both Russia and Georgia of their voting rights at the January session of the assembly if they did not meet a number of requirements. Georgia was required to adhere to the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, return its troops to the positions they were in before the war, allow EU and OSCE observers full access and cooperate with the European Court of Human Rights and International Criminal Court. Russia was required to do the same and to annul its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The amendment sent the Russian delegation into a furor. “If that amendment is passed, it will mean that the Russian delegation will simply not come to the January session. Because everyone understands that Russia will not renounce its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. And if that’s so, it means they want to take away our voting rights automatically. Why did we come here?” a member of the delegation told Kommersant.
Internal Dialog
The day-long discussion was strange. The European parliamentarians debated exclusively among themselves. Some criticized Russia and others defended it, laying more of the blame on Georgia. “Doesn’t Russia understand that it will cause problems for itself by supporting the separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia?” Eorsi asked. “Don’t the Russian authorities see that Tatarstan or Dagestan might be next?”
“It is striking that we have not heard any apologies, regret or even doubt,” noted the British Lord Tomlinson. “The Georgian delegation allows that the Georgian authorities can make mistakes. But the Russian delegation – no. On the contrary, they think of the most unexpected tricks. They try to justify everything with the precedent of Kosovo… But they don’t admit that they were the least wrong.” His compatriot Michael Hancock took up the argument. “What would have happened if no one had intervened?” He beseeched. “Who would have stopped the murder? The EU? NATO? What would Georgia have done then? How many people would Saakashvili have to kill before they stopped him?”
“Putin is trying to return his country to the USSR. He is challenging the entire world community and he will continue to do so as long as everyone tolerates it, until someone says, ‘Enough!’” Swiss delegate Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin said angrily. “We shouldn’t isolate Russia, we should maximally integrate it,” suggested Frenchman Yves Pozzo di Borgo. “For example, eliminating visas for Russians. Only that way will we convince them of the attractiveness of democracy and human rights.”
A heated discussion arose even within the Ukrainian delegation. “The tanks passed through Tbilisi and came here to Strasbourg. Now the aggressor is sitting at the table with us and contending for the role of host,” exclaimed delegate from the Our Ukraine faction Olga Gerasimyuk. “Soon we will hear from the Russian delegation here that the Russian army is coming to defend Crimean children. Then there will be more children waiting their turn!” Communist Yury Marmazov disagreed. “Russia is not a country. It is a civilization. It has to be respected and its right to self-defense has to be acknowledged,” he explained.
The Russian and Georgian delegations were practically the only ones not to participate in the discussion. Most of the Georgian delegation did not sign up for it in time. The members of the Russian delegation refused to pay attention to the arguments of its opponents and made no effort to join in the arguments. And the most experienced members of the Russian delegation, such as Konstantin Kosachev and Leonid Slutsky, had already used their right to speak on Tuesday. Yesterday’s orators all said the same thing. Three times they said that the most important thing to understand was who started the war. The resolution clearly states that Georgia started it, but that did not stop the Russian delegates from repeating the point. Two of them quoted Zviad Gamsakhurdia to prove that the Georgians had tried to eliminate the Ossetians before. Five people said the West was responsible for the war for arming Saakashvili.
Markov tried to engage in a dialog with the other members of the assembly. “Saakashvili was here, in the PACE, and you applauded him,” Markov pointed out. “Probably your applause encouraged him to commit aggression. Now there are reports in the media that Saakashvili has released several dozen criminals from prison so they can commit terrorist acts on the territory of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Think about it. By applauding the Georgian delegation today, aren’t you encouraging Tbilisi to terrorist acts? And is there anyone among you who, in the evening, alone, after a shot of cognac, doesn’t understand that Saakashvili started the war?”
Russia’s Victory
The debates lasted the whole day, from 10:00 to 7:00, with a lunch break and a break for the Swedish prime minister’s speech. By the end of the session, everyone’s nerves were at their end. “It’s impossible to work under these conditions. What kind of disorder is this?” PACE chairman Lluis Maria de Puig shouted as the fifth hour of discussion was winding up. Delegates had been hotly disputing for 15 minutes whether the phrase “the peacekeeping mission was a failure” should be replaced by the phrase “the peacekeeping mission was not a success.” Not even the equipment could stand the heat. The monitor that shows the vote count broke.
Still, almost all of the delegates remained to discuss Amendment 45, which would determine whether the Russian delegation (and possibly the Georgian) would be deprived of its vote in January. To increase its chances of passage, Pourgourides changes its wording at the last moment from “the assembly should the away the right to vote” to “the assembly can…”
Swiss Andreas Gross was the most adamant opponent of Amendment 45. He had already saved Russia from losing its vote on Wednesday. “Our Russian colleagues, who do not need a Russian empire, are in this auditorium. They want their country to be great but not to pressure its neighbors. We have to reject Amendment 45 because it would be the death of the PACE,” he said. In the final vote, 66 delegates agreed with his point of view. Sixty voted for the amendment. Thus, no sanctions threaten Russia.
Nonetheless, it is obvious that the Russian delegation’s authority will be placed in question again in January. All that is needed for that is to gather signatures from 20 PACE members. If Russia does not implement the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan and the PACE recommendations, many more members than that will be dissatisfied, and it will be harder for Russia’s loyal friends to defend it.
Mikhail Zygar
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 03, 2008
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