Ultimatum

Putin is ready to clear Georgia of terrorists

On September 11, the world was waiting for the American ultimatum to Saddam Hussein. However, Eduard Shevardnadze received an ultimatum. And, naturally, not from America, but from Russia.

Vladimir Putin yesterday accused Georgia of aiding terrorist attacks and instructed the General Staff to “report proposals on the possibility and feasibility of striking reliably identified terrorist bases during a pursuit operation.” At the same time, the president instructed the Ministry of Defense “together with other law enforcement agencies to report proposals for the development of special operations aimed at eliminating gangs in the event of repeated attempts to break into Russian territory.”

Thus, Russia declares its right to strike the territory of sovereign Georgia. Vladimir Putin, however, emphasized that Russia firmly follows its international obligations, respects the sovereignty and integrity of other states, but demands exactly the same attitude towards itself.

“If the Georgian leadership is unable to create a security zone in the area of ​​the Russian-Georgian border and continues to ignore UN Security Council Resolution 1373 of September 28, 2001, and does not put an end to bandit attacks and attacks on the adjacent regions of Russia, we reserve the right to act in in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which assigns to each UN member state the inalienable right to individual or collective self-defense,” the Russian President said and added that “those involved in the preparation of terrorist attacks in the United States and direct perpetrators of explosions of residential buildings in the Russian Federation.”

The ultimatum does not say anything about the timing of its execution, that is, the Pankisi Gorge, in principle, can begin to be bombed at any moment. Moreover, Putin also demanded the immediate extradition of the militants. Thus, in order to avoid a special operation, the Georgian leadership must respond to the Sochi ultimatum quite quickly.

Already yesterday evening, Shevardnadze held an emergency meeting with State Minister Avtandil Jorbenadze and Security Council Secretary Tedo Japaridze. Georgian television reported that Shevardnadze was very concerned.

First Deputy Minister of State Security of Georgia, one of the directors of the special operation in Pankisi, Irakli Alasania, told a correspondent of the Vremya Novostey newspaper that “if Russia begins to act unilaterally towards Pankisi, then this is already a declaration of war.” Moreover, according to the press secretary of the Georgian MGB Nik Laliashvili, there are practically no militants in Pankisi anymore. True, they can remain in the territory (approximately 1200 sq. km in the mountains), which is practically not controlled by the Georgian authorities.

The head of the International Relations Service of the State Chancellery of Georgia, Presidential Adviser Shalva Pichkhadze, told our newspaper that in these conditions Tbilisi can only seek more active support from Western countries. “A strong state would have responded differently - it would have struck at terrorist bases in Chechnya, because it was from there, from the territory of the Russian Federation, that the militants came to Georgia; they were not here before the Chechen campaign,” he said. According to him, every aggressive statement by Russian leaders forces Georgia to think about a guaranteed security umbrella, “the best of which is NATO.” “The CIS has not become such an umbrella, one state of which - Russia - openly threatens another - Georgia,” said Shalva Pichkhadze.

It is unknown to what extent Georgia can count on international support. The Russian president probably thought three times about the possible reaction in the world to his harsh statement, the day before which Putin, by the way, had a long telephone conversation with George Bush. The American President is known to be trying to gain support for an attack against Iraq, so agreements on active action cannot be ruled out.

The president's speech cannot be considered impromptu. The tone of Russian politicians towards the Georgian leadership has been rising almost “as planned” in recent weeks. A month ago, it was decided that Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov would speak on September 11 at a closed meeting of the Duma. According to our information, a significant part of this speech was devoted to the “Georgian problem.” According to the deputies, they heard very accurate and harsh assessments of what is happening on the border, as well as characteristics of the position of the Georgian side on the issue of eliminating terrorist groups in the Pankisi Gorge, which “threaten the security of Russia and its citizens.”

Vladimir Putin explained how military action can be avoided: “None of this will be required, no special operations will be needed if the Georgian leadership truly controls its own territory and fulfills international obligations in the fight against terrorism.” Vladimir Putin still hopes that he will be able to discuss and develop joint actions to combat terrorists with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze at his next meeting, which will take place in Chisinau at the CIS summit in early October. In the meantime, according to our information, Russian military bases on Georgian territory have been ordered to strengthen security. Article 51 of the UN Charter

This Charter shall in no way affect the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense should an armed attack occur on a Member of the Organization until such time as the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members of the Organization in the exercise of this right of self-defense shall be immediately communicated to the Security Council and shall in no way affect the power and responsibility of the Security Council, in accordance with this Charter, to take at any time such action as it may deem necessary to maintaining international peace and security.

Lev BRUNI, Nikolay POROSKOV, Mikhail VIGNANSKY, Tbilisi, Igor GLANIN, Sochi