CONTROVERSY OVER LARSI CHECKPOINT OPENING
The Messenger
Nov 6 2009
Georgia
The Larsi checkpoint is currently the only place at which a
Georgian-Russian land communication still exists, although it is not
functioning at the moment. There were three such points initially, one
at Psou on the Abkhazian segment of the Georgia-Russia border on the
Black Sea coast and the other at the Roki Tunnel, the northern entrance
of which officially belongs to Georgia but is now controlled by South
Ossetian separatists. The Psou and Roki checkpoints have not been
available for the Georgian Government for around 17-18 years. In 2006,
Russia unilaterally closed the Russian side of the Larsi checkpoint,
explaining that it needed to undertake reconstruction work there,
although Georgian analysts are almost unanimous in believing that this
was one of the many punitive steps taken by the Russian authorities
to punish ‘disobedient’ Georgia. Ironically, Russia’s most devoted
ally in the South Caucasus, Armenia, was also disadvantaged by this
step as the Larsi checkpoint was also the only place cargo to and
from Armenia could pass through.
Russia did not achieve its ends by punishing Georgia. It continued to
embrace the West despite this action but Armenia lost out. Today, the
issue of reopening this checkpoint is on the agenda. The Parliamentary
opposition is concerned about this possibility, and is demanding
that this issue be discussed at a Security Council session, but the
authorities are mostly positive about it. The main point of controversy
is whether it is appropriate to consider opening a checkpoint with
a country with which Georgia has no diplomatic relations, which is
occupying 1/5th of Georgia’s territory. Sceptics think that if the
checkpoint is opened the Russian propaganda machine would call this a
step in the normalisation of Georgia-Russia relations, and claim it is
an indirect recognition by Georgia of Russia’s position in the dispute
between the two countries, i.e. the "new reality" of two puppet regimes
running what it calls "sovereign states" on Georgian territory. The
Georgian leadership meanwhile tries to present the possible opening of
the border as a humanitarian gesture, being undertaken out of concern
for Armenia’s needs, although it has expressed no previous desire to
work with the Russians for the sake of Armenia.
We currently have the ridiculous situation in which the Georgian
Foreign Ministry says that it is not conducting negotiations with the
Russian side but with the Armenian side, whereas the Armenians are
negotiating with the Russians. Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze
briefed journalists about this on November 2. Moscow declared its
readiness to open the Larsi checkpoint back in May 2009, and Georgian
Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze then expressed Georgia’s readiness
to start negotiations on this topic. The Kremlin was not expecting
this reaction. Logically Tbilisi should have refused to countenance
negotiations, while the Russians would scream about Georgia’s inhumane
treatment of its Armenian neighbours, but maybe Tbilisi was smarter
than Moscow for once.
If the Larsi checkpoint is opened for Armenia’s sake this will
automatically have positive side effects for Georgia too, because the
vehicles loaded with goods will need to be serviced, so canteens,
petrol stations, hotels and so on could revive along the Georgian
Military Road. However the possibility poses a certain threat as well,
as the Christian Democrats pointed out at the Parliamentary plenary
session on November 3. MP Nika Laliashvili stated that North Caucasian
unrest might be imported into Georgia. Former head of the Border Police
Badri Bitsadze thinks that if the official structures do their jobs
properly there will be no such threat, but that might be a big if.
A decision on reopening the checkpoint should be taken in the near
future. Let us see what the consequences will be.