Translated material
Lord Protector
The mayor of Moscow, at the height of the crisis in Georgia, recognized the sovereignty of Abkhazia
Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, known for his passion for controversial and not so “splinters” of the former USSR , yesterday became the first Russian politician of such a high level to publicly recognize the state sovereignty of Abkhazia. “Abkhazia has long been a sovereign state,” said the mayor, speaking at the conference “Russia - Abkhazia: Towards a Single Economic Space.” From the context, however, it was clear that Mr. Luzhkov, being a passionate speaker, simply missed an important the phrase “de facto.” He immediately added: “We (presumably Russia . - Ed. ) must take a bold step and decide to recognize the sovereignty of Abkhazia.” The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba, also expressed himself quite clearly: by reminding. about the long history of Russian-Abkhazian ties, he announced that now “Abkhazia is under the protectorate of Russia.”Yesterday, in the Moscow City Hall building on New Arbat, where rather toothless events are often held in support of compatriots abroad, echoes of the events in Tbilisi and echoes of the Georgian-Abkhaz war were clearly heard. An Abkhaz delegation led by the president of the unrecognized republic, Sergei Bagapsh, came to discuss Russian-Abkhaz economic plans, which, of course, are not easy to draw up until a 200-kilometer stretch of semi-abandoned subtropical paradise on the Black Sea coast does not have a clear legal status. It seemed that no one was going to discuss the political crisis in Georgia, but an association naturally arose. The organizers, however, did not seem to mind demonstrating that Russia is a completely pragmatic player in the field of modern international relations and will not lose its interests while its neighbors have serious internal problems.
An invited political scientist, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and candidate for State Duma deputy Sergei Markov even remarked to the presiding political scientist, director of the Institute of CIS Countries and current State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin, hinting at the coincidence with the Georgian internal political crisis: “A very timely event. Did you specifically agree on this?” Mr. Zatulin smiled broadly and said something affirmative.
Russian experts were clearly excited by the news from Tbilisi. The head of the Caucasus department of the Institute of CIS Countries, Mikhail Alexandrov, gave an impassioned speech in front of a television camera that “Saakashvili’s regime is doomed.” His colleagues in the hall argued about whether Russia would recognize the territorial integrity of Georgia. The former head of the Russian Presidential Administration's department for interregional and cultural relations with foreign countries, Modest Kolerov, and Mr. Zatulin himself doubted this fact and suggested not to confuse slogans with real politics.
Such courage made Dmitry Tarabrin, Deputy Director of the 4th Department of CIS Countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry, turn gray in the face, who hastened to emphasize that Russia still recognizes territorial integrity. But at the same time, it promises (represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to take all measures permitted by the UN Charter to protect its citizens, of whom the majority have been in Abkhazia and South Ossetia since 2002.
Representatives of Abkhazia tried to touch upon the Georgian situation as little as possible and spoke mainly to the point. President Bagapsh, however, expressed concern that the “explosive mixture” that had spilled onto the streets of Tbilisi requires a way out, and suggested that such a way out could, as has happened in the past, be a war for the annexation of Abkhazia. In this case, Mr. Bagapsh transferred the Abkhaz armed forces to a barracks position. He told reporters about this at the end of the first plenary section, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Moscow mayor. The mayor encouraged the guest in every possible way, calling the Georgian demands for the return of Abkhazia and promises to reconsider all the deals that are currently being concluded there, including with the participation of Russian companies, as nothing more than “barking from behind the wall.”
Russian businessmen, according to the mayor of Moscow, should not be embarrassed by this “barking”: Mr. Luzhkov, on the contrary, suggested that they quickly invest money in the Abkhaz economy, because now a lot can be done there much cheaper than in any other places. The mayor, apparently, is absolutely sure that Georgian jurisdiction in Abkhazia will not be restored in the foreseeable future. By the way, Modest Kolerov quite appropriately cited the example of Moldova, which, trying to resume negotiations with the Transnistrian separatists, announced its readiness to recognize the actual state of affairs in the field of property rights.
Sergei Bagapsh recalled that Abkhazia is in the phase of economic recovery, which was almost completely destroyed by the 1992-1994 war: the material damage to Sukhumi is estimated at $17 billion. Despite the fact that Russia has not yet officially left the regime of economic sanctions - Due to the actual blockade of Abkhazia, introduced by the decision of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS in 1996, it is the “neighbor from the north” that is the main investor in the Abkhaz economy. Although, in principle, Abkhaz legislation, despite Sukhumi’s desire to “harmonize” it with Russian laws, remains as open as possible to any foreign investors. The conference participants, by the way, called on Russia to immediately withdraw from the CIS sanctions regime.
The economy of Abkhazia, which, unlike, for example, the economy of South Ossetia, actually has all the prerequisites for dynamic development, is most closely connected with tourism infrastructure. 95% of tourists coming to Abkhazia are Russians, mainly from Moscow and the Moscow region. Russia is the main buyer of Abkhaz agricultural products, although, as Yuri Luzhkov put it, “under the guise” of the ban on the import of Georgian wine, wine from Abkhazia was also included. Russia pays pensions to Abkhaz pensioners, who are 80% Russian citizens, and also participates in the formation of the financial market of the unrecognized republic. According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Abkhazia Beslan Kurbava, a number of large Russian banks are already working with banks in Abkhazia, despite the inevitable reputational risks associated with the status of this territory.
“We do not pose big questions to the Russian leadership,” Mr. Bagapsh noted in connection with several attempts to achieve Russian recognition of the sovereignty of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. -- We appreciate your understanding. The situation has already changed compared to the 90s. We were given a fishing rod, now we must learn to catch fish, fry it and eat it ourselves. You can’t ask for fried fish anymore.”
Abkhazia intends to “catch” and “fry” more fish in connection with the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. The Abkhaz delegation did not repeat the scandalous theses about the deployment of Olympic infrastructure facilities in the republic, which a few weeks ago caused a sharply negative reaction in Tbilisi. However, Abkhazia intends to supply construction materials for the Olympic facilities in Sochi, as well as labor for construction sites and future infrastructure facilities. The conference participants agreed that in order to supply construction crushed stone, it would be reasonable to repair the railway from Sochi to Sukhumi, along which a very leisurely train now runs from time to time.
The road, in fact, was planned to be further restored so that it would connect Western Georgia and Armenia with Russia. A consortium for the restoration of the road, in which Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine participate, agreed to create several years ago, but moving from words to deeds is not easy. Firstly, the agricultural products of Western Georgia (of course, if the customs border is opened for them) will form tough competition for Abkhaz exports to Russia. And secondly, in Sukhumi they are afraid that the first “passengers” to arrive there by train from Zugdidi will be Georgian tanks. At yesterday's conference, Mr. Bagapsh quite gracefully avoided this topic, portraying it as too much of a “global project,” and Russian experts, including Mr. Kolerov, called for abandoning the idea of a railway “corridor” altogether. But Russia could unilaterally resume the use of the airport in Sukhumi - it would be useful as a reserve in relation to the Olympic Adler.
A Vremya Novostei correspondent asked Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba whether, in his opinion, such colorful Olympic rhetoric would harm the settlement of Georgian-Abkhaz relations. And the Olympics itself, which is not only planned in close proximity to the “frozen conflict”, but also receives, in the event of Abkhazia’s active participation, a political overtone that is clearly unacceptable for Georgia and its Western partners. The minister doubted that anyone would boycott the games “because of Georgia,” and added that “there are problems more serious than the Olympics.”
However, after a coffee break, it became clear that the Olympics are a key date for all regional geopolitical forecasts. “Russia has played too much into tolerance,” said Vladimir Zakharov, a senior researcher at the Center for Caucasian Studies at MGIMO. - A new military bloc has already formed in Transcaucasia - Georgia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye. Whoever is in power in Georgia will start a war in Abkhazia in 2012, and the Olympics may be in jeopardy.” Mr. Zatulin reassured Mr. Zatulin: “If the USSR collapsed in 1991, why can’t we accept that Georgia will also cease to exist as a single state by 2014? This is also a geopolitical forecast.” However, in the final resolution, Georgia was intelligently asked to abandon “confrontational approaches, economic blockade and blackmail” and “support Russian-Abkhaz initiatives.” This, according to the authors, would lead to finding a mutually acceptable solution to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.