A Cynical Recall
// Georgian ambassador to Russia is recalled for consultations
Yesterday Russia’s Foreign Office officially admitted that Russian military aircraft had flown over Georgia violating its airspace. The Foreign Ministry explained this activity with the necessity “to dampen the zeal of hotheads in Tbilisi and to prevent a military scenario in South Ossetia from unfolding.” With this, Moscow showed that in case the conflict is escalated, it can interfere militarily. Georgia called Moscow’s activity “an open aggression” and recalled its ambassador in the Russian Federation. U.S. State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, who visited Tbilisi, witnessed the climax of the diplomatic scandal of Russia and Georgia.
Yesterday the Russian MFA officially admitted that Russian military aircraft had flown over Georgia on July 8. “The situation grew tense in the South Ossetian zone of conflict following reports, by the peacekeeping force command in particular, about the possibility of direct invasion by Georgian units purportedly to free four soldiers detained by South Ossetian law enforcement bodies. In order to clarify the situation, aircraft of the Russian Air Force carried out a brief flight over the territory of South Ossetia,” the MFA stated. Moscow has been satisfied with the results of that demonstration of power, “This step helped to cool hot heads in Tbilisi and to prevent a military scenario from unfolding.” A high-ranking MFA official explained it to Kommersant yesterday, “The situation required that we scare the Georgians.”
At the same time, the Georgian party points out that the flights of the Russian aircraft violate the resolution of the Joint Control Commission for the Georgia-Ossetian Conflict Settlement of July 30, 2002 (Protocol 24), which prohibits aircraft from flying over the conflict zone without receiving corresponding approval. Earlier, in similar situations, Russia would deny that its jets appeared over the zones controlled by Georgia. For example, after the incident with the unmanned flying jet shot down over Abkhazia in April, Spokesperson of the Russian Air Forces Alexander Drobyshevsky told Kommersant that on that day no Russian pilot flew over Georgia. More to the point, Moscow rendered the flights of Georgia’s unmanned jets over Abkhazia “military activities in the conflict zone.”
After the press-release appeared at the site of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Georgia announced an immediate recall of its ambassador in the Russian Federation Erosi Kitsmarishvili.
“This decision has been forced by the conduct of Russia, which has committed an open aggression against Georgia. The MFA’s cynical statements just overstep all accepted limits,” Mr Kitsmarishvili told Kommersant. According to the ambassador, he has been recalled to Georgia for consultations, and he is setting off for Tbilisi on Friday. Evidently, it’s the statement of the Russian Foreign Office that aroused such a harsh reaction of the Georgian authorities – as far back as July 8 Tbilisi reported violation of its airspace.
Those who witnessed the occasion told Kommersant that the flight of the Russian aircraft hardly contributed to defusing the situation in the zone of the conflict. The Georgian party recorded the flight at 8.10 p.m. Interestingly, an official with the Interior Ministry of South Ossetia told Kommersant that the issue of releasing the four Georgian military men detained earlier, had been settled by that time. The Georgian party confirms it as well. “By midday we had known that our people would be set free, and a military operation was out of the question,” Shota Utiashvili, head of analysis for the Georgian Interior Ministry, said. Marat Kulakhmetov, Commander of the Combined Peacekeeping Forces in South Ossetia, told Kommersant, “On July 8 the strain was taken off by the decision to release those detained.” Irina Gagloeva, Chief of the South Ossetian Information and Press Committee, shares this viewpoint.
This said, the flight of the Russian aircraft was nothing else but a frightening measure – Moscow demonstrated that it is ready to use force in case of the conflict’s escalation. Colonel-General Sergei Makarov, Commander of the North Caucasus military district (SKVO) confirmed this version. “The units of the North Caucasus military district work out actions required in the event of a flare-up in tensions in the Georgian conflict zones,” the General said in an interview to Interfax, “The major tasks for the SKVO in the event of an escalation or the launch of combat action between the conflicting sides are: the provision of assistance to the peacekeeping troops so as to separate the forces of the conflicting sides; the provision of humanitarian assistance to the population residing in the conflict zones.” It need be added that South Ossetia’s authorities claim 90% of the population of the breakaway republic to be citizens of the Russian Federation.
Not only Russian military and diplomats consider breaking out of hostilities probable. According to the information of Kommersant, the question of a possible proceeding of the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia to a “hot phase” was featured during yesterday’s talks between Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili an U.S. State Secretary Condoleezza Rice. Sources in the American diplomatic circles told Kommersant that Washington is concerned over a possibility of hostilities’ being launched. The USA mostly fears that war will close this country as a possible corridor of energy resources transportation form Southern Caucasia and Central Asia. Besides, the escalation of the Iranian nuclear crisis makes the USA step up the efforts in normalizing its dialogue with Russia, and Washington now barely needs that fanning of tensions over Georgia.
Curiously, the U.S. Department of State had issued an utterly harsh statement regarding the situation in Abkhazia, where it virtually put the blame for the escalation on Moscow and urged replacing Russia’s peace-keepers with international police forces. Yesterday Condoleezza Rice made similar statements during her joint press-conference with Mikhail Saakashvili. Nevertheless, according to the information of Kommersant, the tone of the final press-conference hardly reflected what happened during the talks behind closed doors. Condoleezza Rice made no secret of the fact that although Washington appreciates its relations with Tbilisi, the USA is not going to openly confront Moscow. The State Secretary suggested that the President shouldn’t have any conflicts with Moscow, rather, he’d better focus on concluding a cease-fire treaty in the conflict zones.
According to the information of Kommersant, Ms Rice emphasized that in principle the USA supports replacing the peace-keepers in Abkhazia with an international police contingent, though it’ll take no open steps in this direction. Instead, the State Secretary promised to influence the Russian government persuading it to cancel Vladimir Putin’s April orders that envisage establishing special relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. She stressed that under the present circumstances as NATO’s key members – Germany and France – mind giving Georgia the membership action plan, Tbilisi shouldn’t foster its Euro-Atlantic integration. In the view of Ms Rice, Moscow will get satisfied with a refusal to grant the MAP to Georgia in the near future, so, it’ll be even easier to find a solution to the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Moscow has been skeptical about the mediation of the USA. “It’s true that the USA offered its help in settling the disputes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but we are not that much interested in this idea,” an official with the Russian Foreign Ministry told Kommersant, adding, “Vladimir Putin’s April orders won’t be canceled whatever – there will be no horse-trading.” Yesterday’s meeting of Russian Foreign Office Chief Sergey Lavrov and Abkhaz head of state Sergey Bagapsh can be regarded confirmation of this statement. On its completion Abkhazia’s leader confessed that Sukhumi has been discussing opening of Russia’s representatives in Abkhazia, “It’ll be no diplomatic representatives, rather an association of relations considering issues that worry the nationals of the Russian Federation.” If it happens, this step will be a hallmark in realizing the plan proposed by Vladimir Putin in April.
With that, Moscow appears to have decided to stoke the tensions. Consequently, the consultations the Georgian ambassador was called for, can get prolonged.
The role of Russia’s aircraft in the conflicts in Georgia
Russia’s aircraft first took part in a conflict on the Georgian territory in June, 1992. At that time Georgian units machine-gunned Tskhinvali, where the Russian helicopter regiment #292 resided. Russia’s Vice-President Alexander Rutskoy sanctioned bombing the Georgian emplacements.
Then Russian helicopters, fighters and ground-attack aircraft were used during the war in Abkhazia. They transported refugees and attacked ground and air targets. Several Mil Mi-8 helicopters and one Sukhoi Su-27 fighter were shot down.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly opposed Russian aircraft violating the Georgian airspace. The Russian authorities would always deny such facts.
In the autumn of 1999 soon after the beginning of the second Chechen war these flights grew in number drastically. Several times the Russian Air Forces bombed Georgian villages instead of targets on the territory of Chechnya, but it was done by mistake.
It need be said that the aircraft aspect of the contradictions between Russia and Georgia has gotten even more acute recently. In August, 2007 the Georgian government asserted that a Russian jet flew over the territory of that country and launched a missile in the Gori region, which was to destroy Georgia’s radar stations. A Georgian radar controlling the airspace over Abkhazia was allegedly the target of the attack.
In the spring of 2008 a few Georgian unmanned flying aircraft were shot down over Abkhazia. The Georgian authorities accused Russia of the incident. Footage was shown, where a fighter jet (from the Georgian party’s viewpoint, it was Mikoyan MiG-29) launched a missile against an unmanned plane. The Russian government once again denied the charges.
Alexander Gabuev; Georgy Dvali, Tbilisi
All the Article in Russian as of July 11, 2008
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