Irish Times, Ireland
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Russia gets frosty response from former Soviet allies
Some of Russia’s closest allies in the former Soviet bloc have
distanced themselves from Moscow over its conflict with Georgia,
heralding a possible rift with the Kremlin.
Belarus, Kazakhstan and others in the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) remained silent for days after fighting erupted last week
as they scrambled to work out their positions.
As Russia grew uneasy over the silence, its ambassador to Belarus
chided Minsk for failing to offer open support. Belarus eventually
expressed condolences for the victims almost a week into the conflict
but kept it statements neutral.
Georgia then announced it was pulling out of the CIS – a Russian-led
grouping of former Soviet states – and urged others to follow suit.
Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has skilfully balanced
strong ties with both Russia and the US, broke the silence on
Wednesday, offering unusually strong words and saying CIS unity was
under threat.
"Complex inter-ethnic issues should be solved through peaceful means,
through negotiations. There is no military solution to these issues,"
he said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, due to actions by some CIS states, our community has
become weak and has no levers to intervene in such conflicts."
Armenia, Russia’s staunchest ally in the strategic South Caucasus
region, also expressed concern. "It has been noted that attempts to
solve existing problems through military means are fraught with tragic
consequences," the presidential press service said in a statement.
Russia-friendly Turkmenistan, courted by the West as a new source of
energy for Europe, likewise said "conflicts must be solved only
through peaceful, diplomatic efforts".
The conflict over South Ossetia has already given rise to further
disagreement between Russia and Ukraine, which has sharply criticised
Moscow’s military incursion.
In a gesture of support, Ukrainian leader Viktor Yushchenko, with the
leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Poland attended a mass
rally in Tbilisi this week.
Russia’s traditional allies were more restrained and some, such as
Uzbekistan, have preferred to stay out by saying nothing.
Azerbaijan, keen to regain control over its own rebel region of
Nagorno-Karabakh, avoided sharp words and called for peace.
"We support the territorial integrity of Georgia and support efforts
to avoid the escalation [of violence] in the region and restore
peace," a foreign ministry spokesman said.
Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan, broke
away following a war soon after the Soviet Union collapsed in
1991. The region, backed by Armenia, claims full independence but is
not internationally recognised.
However, independent Azeri media have criticised the government over
its ambiguous position. The widely read Zerkalo newspaper described
Russia’s actions as "fascism".
Commentators in Russia said Moscow was caught off guard by this
reaction from its ex-Soviet neighbours. "Everyone in Moscow thought:
‘We are in the right and the enemy will be destroyed’, but in Minsk
and other CIS capitals everyone was in disarray," Nezavisimaya Gazeta
daily wrote.
"This has totally paralysed the CIS leaders including Belarus. Moscow
did not expect this from its closest ally."
– (Reuters)
© 2008 The Irish Times
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
