Hard Confession

Belarusian deputies will travel to Abkhazia and South Ossetia with the permission of Tbilisi

Yesterday, a working group of the Belarusian parliament began a visit to the Caucasus, which will collect information to consider the issue of recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 12 Belarusian deputies went on a business trip, which will last until November 20. Six of them will visit Georgia, three each will visit Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“There are a lot of meetings planned. We will hold negotiations with representatives of parliament and other government bodies, church circles, and opposition structures,” Viktor Guminsky, head of the national security commission of the lower house of parliament, told Vremya Novostei on the eve of his departure to Georgia as part of the group. According to him, the purpose of these meetings is “to study the attitude of different forces to the events that occurred and find out what ways they see out of the situation.” Tbilisi notes that Belarus requested the Georgian Foreign Ministry in advance to obtain permission to visit Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Nino Kalandadze expressed hope that Minsk will resist Moscow’s “pressure” on the issue of recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Recently, a Georgian-Belarusian business forum took place in Tbilisi, during which the Georgian side convinced representatives of the Belarusian business elite of the benefits of economic contacts with Georgia. It was understood that if Belarus “fails to resist” and recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia, no mutually beneficial cooperation will work.

Yesterday, Belarusian parliamentarians were greeted in the Georgian capital with an emphatic cordiality. Today the guests will hold talks with Parliament Chairman David Bakradze, Foreign Minister Grigory Vashadze and other officials. The Belarusians will also be received by Patriarch Ilia II, who has enormous authority in Georgian society. The guests are scheduled to have conversations with “alternative” pro-Georgian leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These are the chairman of the government of Abkhazia in exile, Georgiy Baramia, and the head of the provisional administration of South Ossetia, Dmitry Sanakoev.

The chairman of the Georgian parliamentary commission for the restoration of territorial integrity, Shota Malashkhia, told VN: “It is important that Belarus draws up an objective picture of what is happening in our region. We do not prohibit anyone from visiting Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, but this must be done with our consent. We assess compliance with the standards accepted in international practice as very positive.” After a visit to Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Belarusian deputies intend to discuss the Caucasus problem with their Russian colleagues. Discussions on this topic may take place at the next session of the parliamentary assembly of the union state, which will be held on November 26 in Moscow.

Upon completion of the visit, members of the parliamentary working group will need several weeks to analyze the information received. After this, the issue can be submitted to parliament. When this will happen is unknown. The current session will end at the end of December. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the discussion of the issue will be postponed to the spring session, which will open on April 2.

Belarusian political scientist and former member of parliament Olga Abramova recalled that parliamentarians from Minsk had already visited the region shortly after the conflict in August 2008. The issue of recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia was not considered then, and at the end of September 2008 elections were held in Belarus, and the composition of the parliament changed. “Today, a voyage of deputies to the Caucasus is necessary to delay the decision on recognition,” our interlocutor believes.

Recognition of Sukhumi and Tskhinvali threatens to quarrel Minsk with the European Union and slow down the ongoing dialogue with the West. Although yesterday Brussels extended visa and financial restrictions against Belarusian officials for a year (they were introduced after the Belarusian presidential elections in 2006), at the same time the European Union decided to freeze the application of sanctions until October 2010. European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner explained that “sanctions continue”, but their suspension means that “a balance is maintained” between Belarus’ involvement in European processes and recognition of the fact that little has been done in promoting democratic reforms in Belarus.

“The problem of recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is a litmus test by which one can determine which way Belarus is leaning today - towards Europe or towards Russia,” Olga Abramova told VN. Belarusian political scientist Leonid Mindlin, in an interview with VN, noted that there are other reasons why Minsk is in no hurry to recognize the new Caucasian republics: “Such a decision could create an unpleasant precedent that Minsk advocates limiting the sovereignty of Georgia. Belarus would not want this, because it also fears infringement of sovereignty.”

Mikhail VIGNANSKY, Tbilisi, Olga TOMASHEVSKAYA, Minsk