GEORGIA: EU OFFICIAL SAYS EVENTS IN ABKHAZIA "DEMONSTRATE DANGERS AND THE NEED TO ACT"
EurasiaNet
May 15 2008
NY
Peter Semneby, the EU special representative for the South Caucasus,
this week traveled to Georgia for talks on the breakaway region of
Abkhazia. The territory has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, as
Moscow has built up its troop presence and sought to formalize its ties
with the region’s de facto leadership, a move Tbilisi says violates
its territorial integrity. Semneby spoke to David Kakabadze, head of
RFE/RL’s Georgian Service, during a stop in Prague following the visit.
RFE/RL: Tensions between Georgia and Russia remain quite high. Is the
EU planning any talks with the Russian side to follow the discussions
in Georgia?
Peter Semneby: We have an ongoing dialogue with Russia, and Georgia
is usually part of that dialogue. There will be several meetings
in the next few weeks with Russia, where I expect that Georgia —
and the situation in the conflict areas — will be discussed.
RFE/RL: George W. Bush this week voiced concerns about Georgia during a
phone conversation with new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. But many
European Union countries — particularly the members of "old Europe"
— are reluctant to confront Russia on the Georgia question. Why is
the U.S. willing to take up this issue while the EU is not?
Semneby: If you look at statements that have been made by the EU
over the course of the last month or so, you will see the EU has
indeed raised many issues of concern with Russia. I would not agree
with your way of posing this question. We have been concerned in
particular about some unilateral moves [by Moscow] — for example,
the presidential instruction [by then-President Vladimir Putin]
to establish and reinforce the ties with the authorities in the
breakaway regions without the consent of the Georgian government. And
there have been a number of other moves of this kind as well, which
we have raised on several occasions. Look at those statements!
RFE/RL: Evidently not everyone is satisfied. Mikheil Saakashvili,
speaking to visiting EU foreign ministers this week, condemned European
nations for failing to oppose the Soviet Union when it absorbed Georgia
in 1921, and urged Europe to choose a different path this time. Do you
think Europe is about to, as Saakashvili put it, "repeat this mistake"?
Semneby: No, Europe is definitely not about to repeat this part
of history.
RFE/RL: The Kremlin claims its recent moves are only meant to defend
Russian citizens in Georgia’s breakaway regions. One Western diplomat
called these citizens a "fake diaspora" that Moscow has created by
granting Russian citizenship to Abkhaz and Ossetians. Why did it
take so long for the West to realize that Russia cannot be seen as
an impartial mediator or facilitator in those conflicts?
Semneby: There is a kind of dilemma here, in the sense that Russia
is, and will remain, a factor to reckon with in this region. It is
the largest and the most important direct neighbor of Georgia. And
against this background, it is of course crucial — in order to have a
stable neighborhood — to reach a settlement, reach an agreement with
Russia. And that means one has to talk to Russia in order to reach
a solution to the problems. It is a secondary issue whether you call
Russia a mediator, or facilitator, or part of talks, or whatever. But
in the long run, in order to have a stable neighborhood, some kind
of modus vivendi, at the very least, will have to be found with the
largest neighbor of Georgia.
RFE/RL: Abkhazia and South Ossetia are just two of the so-called
"frozen conflicts" on the territory of the former Soviet Union. There
are two others: Nagorno-Karabakh and Transdniester. Does the EU have
a common strategy with regard to those conflicts?
Semneby: First of all, I would like to avoid the term "frozen
conflicts," because it implies that these conflicts are not really
very dangerous. This is a term that invites — to a degree —
complacency, which I think it wrong in this case. Instead of implying
that the conflicts are just below the freezing point, I would say
they are just below the boiling point. They are, rather, simmering
conflicts, where any situation, any incident can actually lead to
a very dangerous escalation. And this is also the basis for our
view of the conflicts. These are conflicts which we cannot allow to
continue in the state that they’ve remained in for so long, because
sooner or later there will be a course of events where we would lose
control. And in that situation we will have to work toward changing,
overcoming, moving the status quo in the conflicts.
RFE/RL: Do you think we could be approaching this critical moment in
Abkhazia now?
Semneby: We have faced some very difficult moments recently, and I
think this should come as a memento to us all. [This] would require —
and I think we have already seen, in terms of the positions and the
statements that have been taken — that there is an even more active
interest and involvement of the European Union and others in these
conflicts. We have been concerned all along, but the events of the
last few weeks have once again, and perhaps more clearly than before,
demonstrated the dangers, and the need to act.