Tbilisi hopes that Georgia’s allies will “cross out” Russia’s plans regarding Abkhazia (23.04.2008 USA. Georgian Foreign Minister David Bakradze meets with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the State Department, Washington, D.C.)
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NATO of Protest
// Georgia wants NATO to keep Russia in check
Russia can deploy new military objects in Abkhazia
Today Georgia’s Foreign Minister David Bakradze will participate in the NATO Council session featuring the Abkhazia conflict. According to the information of Kommersant, Tbilisi intends to use the statement of Russian Foreign Ministry Envoy for CIS Affairs Valery Kenyaykin saying that Russia is ready to defend Abkhazia with “military means.” Using this statement to prove that Moscow is biased, Georgia will seek Russia’s quitting the peace-keeping process, with the EU and the OSCE substituting for Moscow. At the same time, according to the information of Kommersant, Moscow can respond with deploying new military bases on the territory of Abkhazia.
One for all
Georgia’s Foreign Minister David Bakradze, who returned from Europe (where he discussed the case of the Georgian spy plane which has been shot down recently) to Tbilisi Saturday, didn’t stay long at home. Today Mr Bakradze is setting off for Brussels to participate in the NATO Council session in the 26+1 format. According to the information that Kommersant got from the Georgian Foreign Office, David Bakradze is going to ask the Alliance for help in view of Moscow’s steps. The ground for an appeal like that is the statement of Russian Foreign Ministry Envoy for CIS Affairs Valery Kenyaykin. “This statement is a grave mistake of Russia’s diplomacy. We have translated it into all European languages so that all members of the NATO-Georgia Council could read it,” an official in Georgia’s Foreign Office told Kommersant.
Friday Valery Kenyaykin claimed that Russia is ready to defend its citizens in Abkhazia with military means in case a military conflict between Tbilisi and Sukhumi breaks out. “We have information that Georgian forces are being regrouped in Western Georgia, close to the Abkhazian border,” the Russian diplomat said. “That shows they are preparing for a military campaign. It may start in the near future. We cannot rule it out.” Mr Kenyaykin presumes that on the threshold of the parliamentary elections in Georgia May 21, the state government needs to find a convincing external enemy, since the future of Georgia’s entire political class is at stake.” At the same time the diplomat warned Tbilisi against the desire to use NATO forces addressing the Abkhazia and South Ossetia issues. “If someone reckons with NATO soldiers who allegedly will fight there, I can say we have something to respond with. We’ll use all possible means. No one should have any doubt about it.”
A few hours later the Georgian Foreign Office issued a statement in response, which was voiced by Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Nikoloz Vashakidze. “After generals Baluevski and Bordiuzha, V. Keniaikin is the third official and the first diplomat, who mentions the threat of using military means in order to annex Georgia’s sovereign territories and limit sovereign right of Georgia to become a member of any international organization. It is absolutely clear that Russian Federation lost all legal, political and moral right to be a state facilitating the conflict settlement, as it has already become a party to the conflict, what makes the presence of its peacekeepers on the territory of Georgia extremely risky. Recent events make it obvious that Russian Federation is at the same time conducting active information campaign to justify military aggression which has been planned long time ago.”
According to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “The Russian Federation is trying to justify its criminal policies by referring to the protection of the human rights of its citizens on the territory of a foreign state.” Tbilisi renders it pointless because “according to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms states shall secure the rights and freedoms of everyone within their jurisdiction.” Georgia’s Foreign Office poured scorn on “the destructive policy that the Russian Federation is pursuing towards the regions of Georgia. This policy was reified inter alia in the illegal passportization of the population in the conflict zones, illegal appropriation of the private property of the victims of the ethnic cleansing, and March 6, 2008 decision of the Russian Federation to withdraw from the CIS decision of January 19, 1996 “On the measures regarding the settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia,” as well as the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation issued to the Government of Russia April 16, 2008.” So Tbilisi “urges the international community to undertake measures to avoid the military aggression planned against Georgia.”
The Georgian Defense Ministry, in its turn, virtually threatened Russia with similar measures, with NATO member-states possibly taking part in the conflict. “Russia’s actions are a provocation and are further inciting tensions,” Georgian Defense Minister Batu Kuteliya said Saturday. “When it comes to aggressive acts against Georgia, we reiterate that no act of aggression will go unanswered from the Georgian side. Or course, we’ll do it with our allies, taking measures depending on the situation.”
All for one
According to the sources of Kommersant in Georgia’s Foreign Office, in Brussels David Bakradze is going to urge the partners to put more pressure on Russia. In particular, the Georgian Minister will seek including the issues of the Georgian-Abkhazian and the Georgian-South ossetian conflicts in the agenda of the Russia-NATO Council. According to the information of Kommersant, Mr Bakradze will insist on changing the peace-keeping format, with the EU and the OSCE taking part in the missions as full-right members, not just observers. Finally, Tbilisi will continue pressing for giving mandates to observers from those international organizations where Russia has no right of veto. This said, Georgia’s diplomats will put much effort in denying the Russian contingent in Abkhazia the status of a peace-keeping mission.
1994 Georgia and Abkhazia with Russia as mediator signed the Agreement on a Cease-fire and Separation of Forces, and another document on deploying a peace-keeping contingent under the auspices of the UN in the zone of the conflict. The contingent consisted of Russian peace-keepers, who were allocated within 12-kilometer security zones on both banks of the Ingury river. UN military observers were deployed in the zone of the conflict as well. At that, Moscow managed to connect the presence of the UN monitoring mission with the deployment of Russia’s peace-keepers there – in case the blue helmets were withdrawn from Abkhazia, the mandate of the UN mission expired automatically.
Actually Tbilisi has some opportunity to urge the overhaul of the form of the peace-keeping mission. According to the agreements confirmed by Vladimir Putin and the then Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze at the St.-Petersburg CIS summit May, 2003, the mandate of the peace-keeping mission can be overhauled when one of the parties demands the termination of the peace-keeping operation. The Georgian government repeatedly expressed their resentment against the activities of Russian peace-keepers, but it has never come to a formal demand to reverse the mission. Nonetheless last Thursday Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili hinted at this possibility.
The West is likely to back Tbilisi. The Vice-president of the European parliament, Marek Sivets, told Kommersant, “The European Union can’t understand what Russian soldiers do in the region.” Friday Robert Simmons, NATO’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia expressed his doubt about Russia’s being impartial, acting as mediator.
According to the sources of Kommersant in the Georgian Foreign Office, in Brussels the Georgian party intends to torpedo the talks on the ratification of the adapted variant of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe by all NATO member-states. “The Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jet, which shot down our unmanned plane, took off from the Gudaut military base, which was to be dismantled according to the Istambul agreements of 1999 and the adapted CFE.” This will add up to the position of those East European and Baltic states which oppose the ratifying or even signing of the adapted treaty,” the official told Kommersant.“ So the Russian MiG-29, which shot down the Georgian plane over Abkhazia, shot down Russia’s hopes of seeking the ratification of the treaty by European states to prevent NATO from approaching its borders.”
Domestic disturbance
Moscow prepares counter-measures. According to the sources of Kommersant in the Russian Foreign Office, Moscow will oppose changing the format of the talks by all possible means. “They can pass any declarations and make any statements, but it’s impossible to change the format of the talks without Abkhazia’s consent. And Sukhumi claims that Russia is the most reliable guarantor of the peace process,” the official said. According to Russian diplomats, if Tbilisi decides to seek the withdrawal of the peace-keepers, referring to the agreements of 2003, Russian troops will withdraw only from the Georgian bank of the Ingury river.
Friday Abkhazia’s President Sergey Bagapsh claimed ready to sign an agreement with Russia to secure protection from Georgia. “Time hasn’t come to reveal all the details, but the essence of the agreement is the following: in exchange for the provision of our security, the government of Abkhazia will take account of Russia’s military interests on our territory. We can officially endorse the presence of Russian soldiers and military bases in Abkhazia,” explained Abkhazia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Shamba to Kommersant. The minister didn’t rule out that new Russian military objects will appear in Abkhazia as a result of signing this agreement. “Abkhazia has the reason to worry about its security, because we have information on the regrouping of Georgian troops, which Envoy Kenyaykin mentioned,” Sergey Shamba told Kommersant.
Tbilisi in no way wishes to accept the deployment of extra Russian troops on the territory of Abkhazia. “We’ll render such kind of action a military annexation,” Konstantin Gabashvili, Chairman of the Committee for International Affairs with the Georgian Parliament, told Kommersant. “Not only shall we turn to the world community for help, we’ll also react just like the Russian government would do if someone attempted to deploy military objects on the territory of Russia without informing M
oscow.”
Alexander Gabuev, Georgy Dvali; Tbilisi
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 28, 2008
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