GEORGIA AND RUSSIA REOPEN BORDER

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3/01/10

A year and a half after waging war, Georgia and Russia grudgingly
reopened their land border on March 1, despite ongoing acrimony
over Russia’s failure to observe the terms of the two countries’
2008 cease-fire agreement.

The Dariali border crossing, perched 1,700 meters high in the
Caucasus Mountains between Georgia and the Russian republic of
North Ossetia, is the only direct land route left between Russia
and Georgian-controlled territory. Russia closed the border in 2006
amid growing tensions with Western-leaning Tbilisi that spiraled into
war two years later. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive.]
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What incentive prompted the decision to reopen the crossing,
also known as Zemo (Upper) Larsi, remains unknown. The
Georgian government and pro-government media have largely
downplayed the re-opening, attributing Tbilisi’s willingness to
reestablish land communications with Russia to its desire to help
neighbor Armenia, which depends on exports to Russia for much
of its revenue. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive.]
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Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili over the weekend in the Black Sea port city of Batumi
for talks that reportedly included discussion of the border decision.

But despite Armenia’s support for the decision, no travelers were on
hand to mark the re-opening, which officially occurred at 7am. As
the day wore on, not a single traveler attempted to cross into
either country.

One Georgian border guard, standing against a dramatic backdrop of
snow-capped mountains, scoffed at the decision to reopen the Dariali
crossing. The checkpoint stands at the top of the Georgian Military
Highway, an entrance route into Georgia for invading Russian armies
in both the 19th and 20th centuries.

"So they [the Russians] dropped bombs, cut the country into pieces,
kicked people out of their homes, and now they are saying ‘Let’s open
the borders, let’s trade, what’s a little war between old friends?’"
the guard bristled. "If you let them get away with it today, they
will invade Tbilisi tomorrow."

In a February 27 statement, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Nalbandov
claimed that "Georgia does not expect any special economic or political
benefit" from the border’s reopening.

Residents of hamlets scattered along the vertigo-inducing highway
that snakes up to Dariali expressed greater optimism, however. Many
locals say they are looking forward to crossing into North Ossetia for
trade, or to visit relatives. From the crossing point, Vladikavkaz,
the North Ossetian capital, is easier reach than Tbilisi, roughly a
three-hour drive to the south, they say.

"We have good trade relations with the Ossetians," said Lamara
Zautashvili, who runs a roadside grocery stand in the Georgian town
of Stepantsminda. "They would come buy stuff here, and we would go
to buy flour, milk and whatnot there. ? I sure hope it all comes back."

An hour south from Dariali, at the popular Georgian ski resort Gudauri,
hoteliers voiced hope that a reopened border could induce Russian
tourists to return. "[Y]ou can’t shut the door in the face of your
neighbor and be on the phone with a faraway friend all the time,"
one guesthouse owner, who gave her name as Marina, said in reference
to Russia and the United States, respectively. Marina said some 40
North Ossetians – "all lovely people" – used to travel to her hotel
for skiing before the border closed three and a half years ago. "Now
I have none."

One diehard snowboarder, Moscow lawyer Natalia Kirilenko, has already
opted to return to Gudauri, although not via Dariali. "I am not going
to give up all of this just because [Russian Prime Minister Vladimir]
Putin and Saakashvili hate each other," Kirilenko said.

Both Russian and Georgian citizens require visas before they can
travel through Dariali into Georgia or Russia, said Giorgi Gegechkori,
head of the Mtskheta-Tianeti District Police, the regional police
force. The checkpoint, which will operate from 6am until 10pm daily,
features an American-renovated facility that can handle 500 "light
vehicles" per day, he added.

Differences of opinion already exist over how to handle any residents
of breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia who wish to cross the border.

Russian officials said on March 1 that such residents, most of whom
carry Russian passports, can cross into Russia at Dariali without
visas. Russia recognizes the two territories as independent states.

But Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze told a news
conference that Abkhaz and South Ossetians – whom Tbilisi considers
citizens of Georgia — will not be allowed through the checkpoint
unless they hold Russian visas.

Such travelers, however, are likely to be few in number. Both Abkhazia
and South Ossetia have border crossings with Russia that are outside
Tbilisi’s control.

Editor’s Note: Giorgi Lomsadze is a freelance reporter based in
Tbilisi. Temo Bardzimashvili is a freelance photojournalist also
based in Tbilisi.