Translated material
March crawl
Russia has half recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia
Yesterday, Russia did what the Georgian authorities were so afraid of and tensely awaited after Western countries recognized the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo . No, Moscow did not recognize the sovereignty of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But it has raised the bar so high for cooperation with the unrecognized republics , the vast majority of whose population are Russian citizens, that it will now be incredibly difficult for Tbilisi to attract the rebellious regions with any peace initiatives.President Vladimir Putin instructed the Russian government, “in accordance with the norms of international law,” to provide “substantive support to the population of the two republics and the Russian citizens living in them, including taking into account Russia’s earlier withdrawal from the 1996 CIS Decision , which limited state ties with Abkhazia , as well as recommendations made by the State Duma." Russia withdrew from sanctions against Abkhazia in March 2008.
To create “mechanisms for the comprehensive protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of Russian citizens living in Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” the president instructed the Russian government to “interact with the actual authorities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, including organizing cooperation in trade, economic, social, scientific and technical areas, in the field of information, culture and education, including with the involvement of Russian regions." These regions have already been designated. “Separate consular functions” for Abkhazia will be carried out by the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Krasnodar Territory, for South Ossetia - in North Ossetia.
Moscow, in fact, recognized the legislation of the unrecognized republics - from now on, “a list of documents recognized in the Russian Federation is established, issued to individuals by the actual authorities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The legal personality of legal entities registered in accordance with the legislation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is recognized.” In addition, additional proposals will be prepared “on a number of specific areas of further interaction with Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the interests of the socio-economic development of these republics and the protection of the rights of the population living in them, including Russian citizens.”
“Russia’s actions look like aggression. Moscow, without official recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, is taking actions to actually annex Georgian territories,” said Konstantin Gabashvili, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Georgian Parliament. After the announcement of the Russian President's instructions was made public, Georgia held a Security Council meeting. At the end of it, Foreign Minister David Bakradze said that Russia was “trying to legalize the annexation” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. According to the minister, what is happening “contradicts international law, and the Georgian side will take all diplomatic, political and legal measures to prevent this process.”
“If Russia establishes special relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, this will be regarded as annexation of Georgian territory and a gross violation of international norms on the recognition of the territorial integrity of states,” said David Bakradze. Tbilisi will seek protection among its allies in the West.
The first responses from the West have already appeared. The EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, expressed concern about Moscow's decision to expand cooperation with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The European Union reaffirmed its commitment to the territorial integrity of Georgia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry explained that Moscow does not choose “confrontation” with Georgia: “We are for the lifting of all sanctions and restrictions that impede the socio-economic development of the region. This is confirmed by the resumption of air and sea communications with Georgia, and other steps that constitute a positive alternative to the course of the current Georgian leadership.” Recalling that Tbilisi refrains from signing peace treaties with the rebels, Moscow said that Georgia’s “new peace initiatives” “cannot be taken seriously.”
As you know, at the end of March, President Mikheil Saakashvili offered Abkhazia the post of vice-president of Georgia, representation in the central government, the right to veto decisions regarding “unlimited autonomy”, and the creation of free economic zones. Proposals for South Ossetia concerned mainly economic development.
Sukhumi and Tskhinvali immediately rejected these initiatives, declaring that they would not abandon the course towards independence. “This refusal was made under the dictation of Moscow,” a representative of the Georgian State Chancellery told Vremya Novostey.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia celebrated yesterday. “We have approached the finishing line on the path to our recognition,” Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba told Vremya Novostey. - And we will tear it up. We'll tear everyone apart! We are not afraid of any negative reaction from Tbilisi. We are ready for the situation in the conflict zone to become more complicated; Georgia may provoke this.” According to him, preparations will be made for the opening of a Russian representative office in Sukhumi: “Then this representative office can receive diplomatic status. When? Let’s not rush, these are stages of a long journey.”
“Georgia should have understood that Russia would take care of its citizens,” South Ossetian Deputy Foreign Minister Alan Pliev told Vremya Novostei. “Even part of our Georgian population has Russian citizenship, not to mention all the Ossetians.” In total, about 300 thousand people live in the unrecognized republics, according to local authorities, 90% of them are citizens of Russia.
Even before Vladimir Putin’s order appeared, Russia and Georgia “crossed swords” at the UN site - there, on the night of Wednesday, Moscow time, the Security Council completed its next review of the situation in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone. The American side took on the role of referee, and, as Moscow stated, the United States took an openly pro-Georgian position. Before the meeting, Georgian permanent representative to the UN Irakli Alasania called Russia's policy towards the separatist regions a “creeping annexation.”
The discussion led to a spat between the Russian and American permanent representatives to the UN - Vitaly Churkin and Zalmay Khalilzad. The American diplomat said that Washington welcomes the recent proposal by the Georgian President to resolve the conflict with Abkhazia, and invited Sukhumi to carefully consider it. Ambassador Khalilzad criticized Russia for withdrawing from CIS sanctions against Abkhazia: “We believe this will raise new concerns about military transparency in the region, as a result of which the peace process will be set back.” In addition, he said, the United States is deeply concerned about reports from Moscow that Russia plans to establish semi-official representative offices in Abkhazia and South Ossetia “without the approval of the Georgian government.”
Vitaly Churkin said that the fears voiced by the American diplomat “absolutely do not take into account the real problem of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. But the real problem is that Georgia’s military presence in the upper Kodori Gorge remains and grows.” The Security Council echoed Moscow's concerns, and yesterday's resolution emphasized "the need to continue to closely monitor developments in the situation in the upper Kodori Gorge," which should be consistent with the provisions of previous ceasefire and separation of forces agreements.
In addition, the Russian diplomat said that, despite the recommendations of the UN Secretary General, a militarized camp of “Georgian patriots” continues to operate near the conflict zone, and Georgian fighters appear over Abkhazia. In March, Abkhazia shot down an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft arriving from Georgia. “Those who loudly declare their concerns regarding compliance with international legality should first of all think about their own actions,” concluded Vitaly Churkin, hinting at the Kosovo problem.
As a result, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of its observers in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone (134 of them) for another six months and called on the parties to resume negotiations. According to Vremya Novostey, Georgia intends to achieve “unfreezing” of the settlement process in Abkhazia this year. Tbilisi expects to significantly weaken Moscow's influence on the negotiations by the next UN Security Council meeting on Abkhazia in mid-autumn. In the coming months, Georgia is going to launch a powerful diplomatic offensive, not leaving unnoticed any statements and decisions on conflict regions by the Russian authorities, which Tbilisi will interpret as “support for separatism.” Georgia intends to convince the international community that Russia does not have a neutral position and, as a consequence, that Moscow is unable to carry out a real mediation function.
The chairman of the parliamentary commission for the restoration of the territorial integrity of Georgia, Shota Malashkhia, remarked to Vremya Novostei: “Russia is far from neutral, which is why we proposed to the UN to reconsider the peacekeeping process on Abkhazia. This revision, at our insistence, will not be endless. I think it will be completed by the end of May. This means that by mid-October, by the next UN Security Council discussion of the situation in Abkhazia, a decision may be made to change the format of the peacekeeping operation.” According to him, the Georgian parliament can outlaw Russian peacekeepers and demand their immediate withdrawal.
Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador at Large Vladislav Chernov, who headed the Russian delegation at the UN Security Council consultations on the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, said that there was no talk about changing the mandate of the CIS Collective Peacekeeping Forces: “This is apparently a recognition that there is no alternative to this kind of format in present day". Let us recall that under the auspices of the CIS forces, Russian peacekeepers have been serving in Abkhazia since 1994. In 2001, Vladimir Putin and then-Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze agreed that they would remain in the conflict zone until either side demanded their withdrawal. To this day, Georgia, which harshly criticizes the Russian “blue helmets,” cannot find a replacement for them - the peacekeepers also ensure the security of the UN mission.