Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
October 13, 2006 Friday
TBILISI WOULDN’T LET GO
by Oleg Gorupai
GEORGIA DOES NOT HONOR THE MILITARY SHIPMENTS TRANSIT ACCORD WITH
RUSSIA; Georgia is making life as hard as possible for the Russian
Army Group in the Caucasus.
This Monday, Georgia introduced new rules for transit of shipments
and personnel of the Russian 102nd Military Base across its
territory. The 102nd Military Base of the Russian Army Group in the
Caucasus is located in Gyumri, Armenia, and may therefore be reached
only via Georgia. Tbilisi’s latest decision concerns transit of
military shipments, base personnel, and family members. The Georgian
Defense Ministry wouldn’t say exactly what changes have been
introduced. Its officers only say that the Russian Defense Ministry
is not supposed to approach the Georgian Defense Ministry on all
involved issues.
The Russian Duma ratified the accords "On organization of transit of
Russian military shipments and personnel via Georgia" and "On
withdrawal of Russian military bases and other objects of the Russian
Army Group in the Caucasus from the territory of Georgia", last week.
The parliament of Georgia ratified the documents too. The Georgian
side apparently feels that it is entitled to unilateral amendment of
the accords after their ratification by signatories’ and national
legislatures. It may complicate the process of withdrawal from
Georgia.
As a matter of fact, Georgia has been doing its best to prevent
transit and withdrawal of Russian bases from its territory even
before these latest developments. Under the terms of the existing
accords, border and customs control of Russian shipments and
personnel follows procedures stipulated by the Georgian legislation
but Georgia in the meantime is not supposed to require any customs
duties or taxes. Even so, the Georgian authorities did try to collect
customs duties and taxes in the episodes when big landing ships of
the Russian Navy sailed into the Batumi port to evacuate Russian
military hardware. They even demanded a duty on the Russian armored
vehicles withdrawn from the territory of Georgia on their own nearly
hysterical insistence. Similarly outrageous episodes occur when
military convoys bring food and fuel to Russian military bases.
The situation with Russian military transit to the 102nd Military
Base in Armenia is no better. In 2005, the Russian Defense Ministry
forwarded to Georgia 270 requests for permission for Russian planes
to flyover Georgia en route to Armenia. Only 80 permits were given,
not one of them after March. Eighty-eight permits were required in
2006. Georgia granted only nine of them. In other words, Georgia has
all but blocked transit without so much as an explanation. Air
transit is all that is left Russia at this point. Transit by
railroads and highways is permitted by the existing accords too, but
Georgia has put an end to it.
Colonel General Alexander Skvortsov, Deputy Chief of the General
Staff, does not think that Georgia may be counted on to honor the
transit accords. "As for the accords, the situation is such that
nothing may be guaranteed. Ratification of the accord put it into
effect. In theory, Russia may officially demand that Georgia honor
it. Still, I cannot give you any guarantees with regard to what
Georgia will or won’t do," Skvortsov told the Duma. He added that the
Defense Ministry is looking for a roundabout ways of reaching the
base in Armenia.
Sergei Ivanov, Defense Minister and Deputy Premier, maintains
meanwhile that the base withdrawal accord will be carried out.
According to Ivanov, the last Russian soldier will leave the
territory of Georgia in late 2008. As a matter of fact, Russia is
actively evacuating merchandise from the 62nd Military Base in
Akhalkalaki. More than 50% has already been evacuated but all of that
cannot be done overnight. Merchandise has to be prepared for
evacuation. It means that specialists and technicians should go to
Akhalkalaki to do whatever is necessary.
This is apparently what Georgia is out to prevent from happening.
Tbilisi may even launch another round of the visa blockade of Russian
servicemen the way it already did earlier this year. Count on the
Georgian authorities to invent excuses to prevent the coming of the
specialists who are supposed to prepare military hardware of the 62nd
Military Base for withdrawal. Food and fuel convoys to objects of the
Russian Army Group in the Caucasus will certainly encounter
difficulties again.
The "withdrawal accord" also stipulates establishment of the
Russian-Georgian counter-terrorism center. Georgian Defense Minister
Gela Bezhuashvili in the meantime says that the center cannot be
established because of the state the relations between Tbilisi and
Moscow are in. It means that official Tbilisi would stop at nothing
to make life hard for servicemen of the Russian Army Group in the
Caucasus carrying out the withdrawal. Shortly speaking, Georgia
refuses to honor its commitments under the accord. Bezhuashvili is
not telling the truth when he says that the document in question only
stipulates Russian-Georgian consultations on the matter. Article 20
of the Accord states that "the signatories pledge to prepare for the
signing of an accord on establishment of the Russian-Georgian
counter-terrorism center, a document in accordance with which a part
of the personnel, materiel, and infrastructure of the Russian
military base in Batumi agreed upon by the signatories will be used
in the interests of the center."
Ivanov says in the meantime that the Georgian leadership knows what
should be done to normalize the relations with Russia. "We will judge
by deeds, not rhetoric," Ivanov said.
Source: Krasnaya Zvezda, October 10, 2006, p. 3