Translated material
"Negotiate for yourself"
Georgians warmly greeted and coldly saw off the Russian ambassador
Yesterday in Moscow, representatives of the Russian Ministry of Transport and the Georgian National Transport Commission agreed to create a working group to resume air traffic, which was interrupted in early October 2006 . The return to Tbilisi in January of Russian Ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko, who had been recalled to Moscow four months earlier for consultations, made it possible to transfer this issue from a political to a practical plane. The aviators will check the status of the companies' debts and return to the negotiating table at the end of February.In Moscow, they talk about the debt of Georgians for air navigation services in the amount of 3 million 738 thousand dollars. In Tbilisi, these figures are considered overestimated. Vyacheslav Kovalenko, who yesterday held his first press conference in Tbilisi since his return, is confident that since experts have taken up the issue, the resumption of air traffic is “not far off.” According to the head of the Russian diplomatic mission, expert consultations on the problem of returning Georgian products to the Russian market may soon follow. Last spring, Moscow imposed an embargo on Georgian alcohol and mineral waters due to a significant amount of counterfeit products.
The same “technical problems,” the ambassador explained, are associated with the resumption of the issuance of Russian visas. Before the political crisis, approximately 100 thousand Georgian citizens received Russian visas annually, but now they are issued only in emergency cases. “We need to put things in order regarding the issue of visas, there is no other problem,” said Mr. Kovalenko, explaining that this applies to numerous intermediary travel agencies.
The ambassador's press conference was sold out. Over 70 local journalists and correspondents from foreign media were accredited. Such a number of journalists gathers in Tbilisi only in emergency cases. The press was warned that time was limited, as the ambassador had a lot to do. Indeed, on the same day he was invited to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, where for the first time after his return, Vyacheslav Kovalenko had to listen to criticism of Moscow’s actions.
Tbilisi protested against the visit of a Russian Foreign Ministry representative to Sukhumi last week. “When crossing the Georgian-Russian state border, it is necessary to enter the country only through legitimate border checkpoints. Visits of this kind and any kind of contacts with representatives of the separatist authorities are unacceptable without prior consent from the central authorities of Georgia,” stated the Georgian Foreign Ministry.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia told Vremya Novostey that the director of the 4th Department of the CIS countries of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Kelin, visited Sukhumi as part of preparations for a meeting on the Abkhaz settlement under the auspices of the UN scheduled for mid-February in Geneva.
Despite the lack of time, at yesterday's press conference in Tbilisi, the 60-year-old ambassador, who has served in the Russian Foreign Ministry for 35 years, tried to be composed and correct. Mr. Kovalenko immediately stated that Russia and Georgia do not have “insoluble problems.”
“Russia is not a hostile country for Georgia,” the ambassador said. “Russia has no selfish interests in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.” He called “not to shift responsibility onto Russia” for problems in Georgia’s relations with the unrecognized republics. “Agree yourself,” suggested Kovalenko, promising that Russia will accept all agreements and is ready to help as a mediator and peacemaker.
However, not all Georgian journalists believed in the sincerity of the statements of the Russian representative. The press conference almost turned into a rally. A journalist from the Georgian Times weekly, referring to Russia's policy in the Caucasus, said for some reason that “Russia has plowed up Chechnya.” A correspondent for the Sakartvelo (Georgia) newspaper demanded that Vyacheslav Kovalenko “remove Barankevich, Laptev and Zaitsev, who are killing Georgian citizens.” (We are talking about the Secretary of the Security Council, the Minister of Defense of South Ossetia and the Chief of the Abkhaz General Staff. All have Russian citizenship, like most of the population of the unrecognized republics. - Ed. )
“I’ve been in Georgia for just over two weeks, and during this time I’ve often heard statements with obvious anti-Russian overtones,” the diplomat complained. According to him, “we need to restore trust - this is the key to resolving all issues.”
The unrecognized republics also responded to the press conference of the Russian ambassador. Foreign Minister of Abkhazia Sergei Shamba told Vremya Novostei that “Abkhazians also support the integrity of Georgia, but without Abkhazia.” His colleague from South Ossetia, Murad Dzhioev, in an interview with Vremya Novostey, expressed the hope that “Russia will continue to participate in the negotiation process as the main guarantor of the settlement.”