Russian Withdrawal Snags at Akhalgori
// Georgia disputes Russia’s adherence to the plan
In spite of Russia’s declaration of an early withdrawal of Russian forces from the buffer zone on the territory of Georgia, the implementation of this point in the Medvedev-Sarkozy peace plan has run into new difficulties. This weekend, Tbilisi accused the Russian forces of illegal occupation of the Akhalgori area, which is within South Ossetia but populated by Georgians. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in response that the peace plan does not apply to Akhalgori. Another disputed point, Kommersant has learned, is the format of the discussions in Geneva that are to start on Wednesday. Moscow announced the early withdrawal of Russian forces from the buffer zone separating Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia proper last Thursday. First Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced it at the conference in Evian, then the Foreign Ministry announced it. On the same day, Russia’s permanent representative presented a note to that effect to leadership bodies of the European Union.
On Friday, the Georgian leadership accused Russia of “illegal occupation of the Akhalgori area.” “That is native Georgian territory, only Georgians live there. But the Russian occupiers do not intend to dismantle their checkpoint and leave Akhalgori,” a spokesman for the Georgian Foreign Ministry complained. Georgian experts say Russia is maintaining control over that region to have a launching ground for an attack on Tbilisi. Akhalgori is 60 km. from the Georgian capital.
Moscow’s point of view was expressed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday when he answered journalists’ questions in Berlin after a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “As far as I know, several European representatives have expressed regret that Russian peacekeepers have not withdrawn from Akhalgori. However, that is no violation of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, since it is written there in black and white that we are obliged to leave areas bordering on South Ossetia and Abkhazia and EU monitors will be introduced into those areas,” he said. Lavrov made reference to the fact that, in Soviet administrative divisions, the Akhalgori area was part of the South Ossetian autonomy within the Georgian SSR, and so now it should be part of the Republic of South Ossetia, whose independence Moscow recognizes.
Thus the difference over the status of Akhalgori is becoming the latest impediment to the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan. And it is far from the only one. In Berlin, for example, Lavrov said a lot about negotiations on guaranteeing the region’s security, which, under the peace plan, are due to begin on Wednesday, October 15, in Geneva. “The discussions cannot be effective without the equal participation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,” said the foreign minister. “At least as far as Russia is concerned, we will take part in those formats where those two republics are represented equally with all the others. They are the victims of attack and their voice must be heard when we discuss ways to prevent further tragedies.”
For Tbilisi and many EU countries, the conditions named by Lavrov are completely unacceptable. The participation of Sukhumi and Tskhinvali on equal terms would be indirect recognition of their independence. The meeting in Geneva is in question now because of that disagreement. “We are still in the process of discussing the format, level and dates of that meeting with our European partners,” a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman told Kommersant.
At the same time, a major scandal has broken out in Tbilisi. Georgian media are accusing the FSB of preparing an assassination attempt on Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Citing an independent source in the government of Abkhazia who allegedly met with the deputy head of the Russian Main Intelligence Department (Russian abbreviation GRU) in Sochi, the media reported a GRU-FSB plan to eliminate Saakashvili. Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev gave the order and a member of the Ossetian Pliev clan was supposed to carry out the hit on the president. The Georgian media reported that that family has declared a blood feud with the president after one of their number, Teimuraz Pliev, burned to death in a gasoline tank truck that was hit by Georgian fire from Georgian forces.
“The blood feud is not characteristic of the Ossetians but, after the case of Kaloev, who murdered the air traffic controller in Switzerland and the inadequate coverage it received in the Russian press, the adat of the blood feud is becoming popular,” Georgian expert Mamuka Areshadze said. “As for the Plievs, it was to a great extent a PR stunt by Russian authorities who wanted to show that the simple people are opposed to Saakashvili too.”
On the official level, the rumors about the attempt against Saakashvili are being sternly denied. “We have no serious information about it and there is nothing to comment on,” said head of the Georgian Foreign Ministry information department Shota Utiashvili. A source in the Georgian state administration told Kommersant that “No measures to increase security for President Saakashvili or changes to the government security procedures as a whole have been made.”
Georgy Dvali, Tbilisi; Alexander Gabuev
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 13, 2008
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