Translated material
Unilateral embargo
Dmitry Medvedev banned the sale of weapons to Georgia from Russian territory
In the next two years, Georgia will not receive a single Russian cartridge, not to mention larger weapons and military equipment. Yesterday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree “On measures to ban the supply of military and dual-use products to Georgia.” Moscow failed to achieve an official international embargo on the supply of arms to Georgia, and the Russian authorities decided to act independently.In accordance with the presidential decree, until December 1, 2011, it is prohibited “the supply, sale or transfer to Georgia from the territory of Russia or by citizens of the Russian Federation of military products, including weapons and military equipment, related materiel, as well as dual-use products that may be used for military purposes." This refers to products of Russian (Soviet) design or Russian (Soviet) production.
At the same time, it is prohibited to use railway, water, or air transport for the supply of weapons and military equipment (WME) to Georgia. You cannot advise the Georgian military, provide them with assistance or provide services related to the production, maintenance or operation of weapons and military equipment. The goal is to stop supplies that lead to a destabilizing accumulation of weapons and military equipment or contribute to regional instability. The training of Georgian specialists in the field of military activities was also banned. However, they have not been in Russian military universities since the reign of Eduard Shevardnadze.
The ban applies to military and dual-use products, regardless of their place of origin. The decree provides for the possibility of economic measures against foreign states, organizations and citizens that will supply such products to Georgia. In case of violations, the Russian government is instructed to submit proposals to limit or terminate military-technical and military-economic cooperation with such states and organizations.
“The document is focused not so much on Russian organizations as on foreign partners who sponsored Saakashvili’s regime and supplied him with weapons,” State Duma deputy, chairman of the subcommittee on military-technical cooperation with foreign states of the Defense Committee, Captain 1, told Vremya Novostey. reserve rank Mikhail Nenashev. We are talking primarily about Ukraine, which supplied weapons to Georgia and sent crews of air defense complex specialists to fight against Russia. Before the August war, Georgia purchased weapons and heavy equipment from Ukraine, in particular T-72 tanks, 2S7 Pion self-propelled howitzers, and L-39 training aircraft. If necessary, Mr. Nenashev said, the State Duma Defense Committee is ready to make the necessary amendments to Russian legislation as soon as possible to legally ensure the effect of the decree of the Russian President.
The decree is also a warning to the countries of Eastern and Central Europe, says Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. And pressure on those who are ready today, six months after the August events in South Ossetia, to supply weapons and military equipment to Georgia. This refers to Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Bosnia, which were the main suppliers of weapons to Georgia before the war. The domestic Russian focus of the decree should not be discounted, Mr. Pukhov believes, referring to the supply of KamAZ dual-use vehicles to Georgia. Our experts delicately avoid the topic of warning the United States and Israel.
Other interlocutors of Vremya Novostey added engines supplied to Georgian Su-25 attack aircraft, possibly taken from Air Force repair plants. One should not discount the Russian-Ukrainian agreement on military-technical cooperation, under which Russia until recently supplied Georgia with some types of weapons.
“Ukraine will ignore such decrees and similar demands,” Andriy Parubiy, a member of the Rada from the presidential party “Our Ukraine,” said yesterday, since this is “another attempt at pressure.” He said that in the arms trade Ukraine is guided by “current international agreements and decisions of international structures such as the UN Security Council or OSCE.”
Nevertheless, a scandal broke out around the supply of weapons to Georgia in Ukraine, connected with the activities of a special parliamentary commission of the Verkhovna Rada: it stated that the weapons were sold at reduced prices, and the money received did not reach the budget. However, in December last year the commission ceased its work.
In turn, the Georgian authorities criticized the actions of the Russian side, which announced a ban on the supply of military and dual-use products to Georgia. This measure, like other Russian steps against Georgia, “causes surprise, to say the least,” is emphasized in a commentary by the Department of Information and Press of the Georgian Foreign Ministry, distributed on Monday.
The Georgian authorities believe that in this way “Russia threatens the international community if it cooperates with Georgia in the field of security.” At the same time, Tbilisi reminds that it was Russia that suspended its participation in the Treaty on the Limitation of Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) , which, according to the Georgian side, “creates a threat to its neighboring states.” At the same time, the Foreign Ministry commentary emphasizes that “Georgia is committed to international obligations and strictly implements all international agreements and conventions in the field of security.”