GEORGIA MOVES TOWARDS ACCESSION
by Dmitri Sidorov, Vladimir Soloviev
Translated by Elena Leonova

Source: Kommersant, September 25, 2006, pp. 1, 9
Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part B (Russia)
September 25, 2006 Monday

NATO is preparing to accept its first member from the CIS

President of Georgia lashes out at Russia; Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili has accused Russia of "annexing" and "criminally occupying"
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. A meeting of NATO foreign affairs ministers
has approved a transition to "intensive dialogue" with Tbilisi:
a de facto invitation to join NATO.

Speaking at the United Nations last week, Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili accused Russia of "annexing" and "criminally occupying"
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Saakashvili’s harsh words are linked to
the fact that the previous day, a meeting of NATO foreign affairs
ministers approved a transition to "intensive dialogue" with Tbilisi:
a de facto invitation to join NATO.

President Saakashvili made his controversial statement on Friday,
September 22, at the UN General Assembly in New York. He delivered
a scathing twenty-minute speech about Russia’s destructive role in
the process of restoring Georgia’s territorial integrity. First, he
called on Moscow to withdraw Russian peacekeepers immediately from
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, because "their mission has nothing to
do with upholding peace." Saakashvili then criticized the Kremlin’s
policy on Georgia: "These regions [South Ossetia and Abkhazia have
been annexed by our neighbor to the north – Russia, which claims to
support the idea that they are part of Georgia, while deliberately
issuing Russian passports en masse, in violation of international
law." Saakashvili said: "The residents of the disputed regions are
living under Russia’s criminal occupation. I doubt that anyone in
this audience would tolerate such interference on their own soil."

Saakashvili spoke with unprecedented harshness; never before has
Russia been accused of "annexation" or "occupation," especially not
at the United Nations. Tbilisi always used to speak through Defense
Minister Iraklii Okruashvili when criticizing Moscow. The fact that
it’s the Georgian head of state who is making such serious accusations
now indicates that Georgian-Russian relations have deteriorated
to the point of extreme hostility. According to our sources, the
US Administration had requested Saakashvili to moderate his tone –
but turns of phrase like "criminal occupation" and "accomplices of
the Russian peacekeepers" stayed in the speech anyway.

Saakashvili’s fearlessness was clearly connected with the fact that
Tbilisi had scored an important diplomatic victory the previous day.

The foreign affairs ministers of 28 NATO countries decided to integrate
Georgia more closely into their ranks, approving a transition to the
"intensive dialogue" phase in relations with Georgia.

Georgia, which has never concealed its liking for NATO, has now
been given a clear signal that its wish for membership could become
a reality. This makes Georgia the first, and thus far the only,
CIS country which can boast of such close relations with NATO. And
there’s another reason why the NATO foreign ministers’ decision is
unprecedented. One of the main conditions for NATO membership is that
there should be no conflicts on the territory of a candidate state.

But Georgia has two conflict zones, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with
occasional armed clashes taking place there. To all appearances,
however, Brussels has decided to turn a blind eye to this
inconsistency.

The Georgian authorities are making no secret of their delight at
this news, and say they’re certain that nothing can stop Georgia from
becoming a NATO member soon. "We’re close to NATO membership, and we
can’t be stopped from taking that path," said Saakashvili yesterday,
after congratulating Georgia’s judo champions on defeating the Russian
team at the judo championship in Paris.

Russia hasn’t let Georgia’s accusations pass unnoticed – though
Moscow’s response wasn’t as harsh as Tbilisi’s attack.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, attending the UN General Assembly
session in New York, said that President Saakashvili is operating on
the basis of "a vast amount of distorted facts" and that Georgia is
purchasing "a large quantity of offensive weaponry." Lavrov complained
of "Georgia’s numerous violations of Abkhazian conflict regulation
agreements," saying that "the problem can only be solved with mutual
respect and by relying on the facts." Lavrov added: "I hear neither
the former nor the latter in Mikhail Saakashvili’s speech."

President Vladimir Putin was even more restrained: "Mikhail Saakashvili
is a hot-tempered person. All political leaders in the Caucasus are
noted for being exceptionally emotional. Nevertheless, he does care
about his country and the situation developing in his state." According
to Putin, if a compromise solution can be found for the conflicts
on Georgian territory, Russia is prepared to act as a guarantor for
such agreements.

The prospect of Georgia joining NATO caused a much greater stir
in Russia. The Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry responded
differently to the idea that NATO could soon enter Russia’s interests
zone in the Caucasus.

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov didn’t attach much significance to
it, saying that Georgia’s accession to NATO wouldn’t damage Russia’s
military security. According to Ivanov, Russia has the resources to
neutralize the negative consequences of such a move: "We are currently
establishing two modern mountain brigades in the Caucasus.

Their personnel will operate at high altitudes in the mountains. Both
brigades will be stationed on the Georgian border, so Russia’s security
will not be compromised."

The Foreign Ministry doesn’t share Ivanov’s calm and optimism. Its
reaction to NATO’s decision on closer relations with Georgia has been
somewhat nervous. The official Foreign Ministry press release says:
"Any expansion by NATO entails changes in the area of security,
but Georgia is a special case, due to its proximity to Russia and
the obvious complexity of Caucasus problems. If NATO, in its present
form, accepts Georgia as a member – if this idea is realized – that
will have a substantial impact on Russia’s political, military, and
economic interests, and a negative impact on the fragile situation in
the Caucasus." The Foreign Ministry stated directly that Moscow is
not pleased with the active rapprochement between Georgia and NATO:
"The start of intensive dialogue gives Georgia a new status in
relations with NATO. Our negative attidude to this is well-known."

The euphoria of the Georgian authorities over the start of intensive
Georgia-NATO dialogue is due to hopes that the Georgian-Abkhazian and
Georgian-Ossetian conflicts may soon be resolved. Tbilisi maintains
that solutions are being obstructed by Moscow, and hopes that with
NATO’s asistance, it can make Moscow change its stance. Givi Torgamadze
says: "We are sure that support from the world’s leading powers will
help to solve our territorial integrity problem. We hope it will also
put an end to tension in relations with Russia."

Tbilisi’s hopes may well be justified – but regulating territorial
conflicts in Georgia’s interests can hardly be NATO’s main aim in the
region. Earlier this year, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline was
opened at the Turkish city of Ceyhan. The pipeline runs to Europe,
bypassing Russia, and thus far it’s transporting oil from Caspian
Sea fields belonging to Azerbaijan. The pipeline will soon start
pumping oil from Kazakhstan as well. The West, as the chief sponsor
of this pipeline’s construction, wants security guarantees for it –
especially since Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan runs through a very unsettled
region. NATO’s presence could provide such guarantees.

But having Georgia alone join NATO might not be enough to reassure the
West completely. So we can soon expect to see a rise in NATO activity
in relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia, which are already taking
part in NATO programs.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress