MOSCOW ITSELF PROVOKED IMPUDENT ACTIONS OF GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES
by Vladimir Mukhin
Translated by Pavel Pushkin

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, September 29, 2006, p. 3
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
October 2, 2006 Monday

Collapse Of The Ostrich Policy;

Seizing Of Russian Officers In Georgia As A Consequence Of
Contradictory Foreign Policy Of Russia In Transcaucasia; The insolent
seizing of Russian officers in Georgia is a quintessence of the
unclear, contradictory and ostrich foreign policy of Russia in
Transcaucasia.

The insolent seizing of Russian officers in Georgia is a quintessence
of the unclear, contradictory and ostrich foreign policy of Russia in
Transcaucasia. Without taking public opinion of Russians, secretly,
on March 31, Commander of Russian Ground Forces Colonel General
Alexei Maslov and Senior Deputy Defense Minister of Georgia Mamuka
Kudava signed an agreement on withdrawal of Russian military bases
and other military objects of the group of Russian forces in
Transcaucasia from Georgia. This document was not ratified by the
Duma yet and the government only considered it and submitted it to
the President for signing. Meanwhile, 25 trains with personnel and
armament of the Russian forces were already sent to Russia and
Armenia this summer. This was equivalent to more than a half of the
entire combat potential of the group of Russian forces in
Transcaucasia.

Back in May 2006, when illegitimate withdrawal of Russian forces from
Georgia was only starting, Lieutenant General Yury Netkachev, former
deputy commander of the group of Russian forces in Transcaucasia who
was in the Adzharian government of Aslan Abashidze in capacity of the
head of the security service between 2001 and 2003, already predicted
the situation regarding seizing and humiliation of Russian officers.

Then the general said, "Withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia is
the biggest geopolitical mistake of Russia. They will taunt us and
our officers."

Many politicians in Russia agree with him now.

Meanwhile, general Netkachev believes that Moscow itself is to blame
for the illegitimate ascent of Saakashvili to power. It turned out
that when Saakashvili was only going to become the president and
Tbilisi was turbulent, Moscow was able to prevent his ascent to
power. Netkachev said, "I knew for sure that at the end of 2003,
Abashidze arrived in Moscow and addressed the Defense Ministry and
the government with a request to support him and to prevent coming of
Saakashvili to power. Just agree, all this so-called orange
revolution in Tbilisi and dismissal of Shevardnadze, all this was
illegitimate. Residents of Adzharia supported Shevardnadze. However,
Russian officials in the Presidential Administration decided not to
interfere because they believed that this was an internal affair of
Georgia. Abashidze left Russia without any results, although the
terms that he offered in case of Russia’s support for him were very
beneficial for Russia. He promised to leave our 12th military base in
Batumi indefinitely. If we recall the recent past we can say that he
has often helped our Adzharian garrison with food, has given fuel and
lubricants for exercises etc."

Netkachev fully denies a possibility of espionage of Russian
servicemen against Georgia, "If we were doing this and organized
"intrigues, conspiracies" etc against Saakashvili, believe me, the
illegitimate regime of the young reformers would not exist even for a
few months. Unfortunately, we stay aside. Other countries support
Tbilisi. I will not say which because you will understand by
yourself. They act against Russia in a concerted way and are very
successfully ousting it from Transcaucasia and other regions of the
CIS."