Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
May 7 2008
The West Should Unite in Support of Georgia
07.05.08 17:30
Azerbaijan, Baku, 7 May / Trend News/ Ariel Cohen, L.L.B, Ph.D., a
Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation (specially for Trend
News)
Russian actions in Abkhazia have ignited a red light in many European
capitals, as well as Washington, NATO, and EU headquarters. The
question that faces Europe and the U.S. is how to stop Russia’s
violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. For
that, Washington needs to secure Western unity in firm opposition to
Russia’s policies and actions.
Western allies should recognize that Russia’s bullying behavior
against its neighbors is against Moscow’s long-term security
interests. A cooperative and rule-abiding Russia already is in part,
and may increasingly evolve more completely into, a security and
business partner for Europe and the United States, as well as its
neighbors.
On the other hand, a Russia that reverts to the old imperialist modes
of operation is nothing but trouble and a source for security concerns
near and far.
America’s European partners, including Germany and France, should take
Russia’s expansionist rhetoric and deeds seriously and oppose them
vigorously. The West should not allow Russia’s violation of Georgia’s
territorial integrity to drive a wedge between the U.S. and its
European allies. The U.S. and its European allies should express full
diplomatic support to Georgia with regard to its territorial integrity
and sovereignty.
The West should heed Georgia’s call to convene emergency meetings at
the U.N. Security Council and the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to discuss Russia’s April 16 decision to
expand its ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The West should
persuade Russia to pull out its soldiers from the peacekeeping
contingents in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and replace them with
U.N. or OSCE-approved peacekeeping forces that could include troops
from, for example, Ukraine, Romania, and Poland as its lead
contingents.
In the last few days, Moscow has beefed up its `peacekeeping force’ in
the breakaway Abkhazia on the Black Sea, claiming it is protecting
Russian citizens, who are the majority population of Abkhazia, Russian
troops are amassing on the de-facto Abkhazia-Georgia border. The
Caucasus may be on the brink of a war. In the meantime, Russia has
accused Georgia of planning to invade Abkhazia. These accusations
sound hollow.
Throughout April, Russia has escalated its political and military
pressure on its neighbor Georgia. At the NATO summit in Bucharest,
President Vladimir Putin reportedly threatened to recognize the
independence of the breakaway autonomous republics of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia if Georgia was granted a Membership Action Plan (MAP)
for eventual accession to NATO. On April 16, despite France and
Germany balking at providing a MAP, and apparently as retribution for
the West’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence, Putin instructed the
Russian Foreign Ministry to upgrade the legal and economic ties
between Russia and the secessionist governments of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia, violating Georgian sovereignty.
More recently, on April 20, according to Georgian reports, a Russian
MiG-29 fighter shot down an unmanned Georgian aerial reconnaissance
vehicle in violation of Georgian airspace. Despite some Russian
concessions in its bilateral relations with Tbilisi, Russian hostility
toward Georgia does not seem to be abating.
Unity Against Threat. The question that faces Europe and the U.S. is
how to stop Russia’s violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity. For that, Washington needs to secure Western
unity in firm opposition to Russia’s irresponsible policies and
actions.
Western allies should recognize that Russia’s bullying behavior
against its neighbors is against Moscow’s long-term security
interests. A cooperative and rule-abiding Russia already is in part,
and may increasingly evolve more completely into, a security and
business partner for Europe and the United States. On the other hand,
a Russia that reverts to the old imperialist modes of operation is
nothing but trouble and a source for security concerns near and far.
America’s European partners, including Germany and France, should take
Russia’s expansionist rhetoric and deeds seriously and oppose them
vigorously. The West should not allow Russia’s violation of Georgia’s
territorial integrity to drive a wedge between the U.S. and its
European allies. The U.S. and its European allies should express full
diplomatic support to Georgia with regard to its territorial integrity
and sovereignty.
The West should heed Georgia’s call to convene emergency meetings at
the U.N. Security Council and the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to discuss Russia’s April 16 decision to
expand its ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The West should
persuade Russia to pull out its soldiers from the peacekeeping
contingents in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and replace them with
U.N. or OSCE-approved peacekeeping forces that could include troops
from, for example, Ukraine, Romania, and Poland as its lead
contingents.
About two weeks after the Bucharest meeting, President Putin
instructed his Foreign Ministry to prepare measures to `create
mechanisms of comprehensive defense of the rights, freedoms and lawful
interests of the Russian citizens living in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia.’ The majority of the Abkhaz and South Ossetians hold Russian
passports and participated in the Russian parliamentary and
presidential elections.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Putin also ordered the
Russian government to work together with the breakaway governments to
`organize cooperation in the trade, economic, social and
techno-scientific fields and in the spheres of information, culture
and education, particularly with the enlistment of Russia’s regions.’
Putin also ordered the Russian government to recognize the legality of
corporate entities registered in these often-lawless regions, and `to
cooperate with Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the framework of legal
assistance in civil, family and criminal matters.’ Russian Foreign
Ministry consular offices would provide consular services for the
enclaves’ residents.
There are at least two reasons for Russia’s heavy-handed policies
toward Georgia. First, Russian diplomats and analysts have repeatedly
declared since at least 2007 that Kosovo’s declaration of independence
and recognition by the U.S. and the major Western powers would lead to
recognition of pro-Russian secessionist regimes, including
Transnistria in Moldova, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. The second
reason is Russia’s adamant opposition to the U.S.-supported bid by
Georgia to become a NATO member.
A week before the Bucharest summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov declared that `it would be a very dangerous game if they
[Georgia] secure NATO support and solve conflicts in Abkhazia and
South Ossetia by force¦. Abkhazia and South Ossetia can’t even
think about Georgia joining NATO. It’s impermissible to play with
fire.’ During the NATO summit in Bucharest, President Putin warned
President Bush that if Georgia were offered a MAP, Moscow would
establish a buffer zone between Russia and NATO. Putin added that
NATO’s eastward expansion would be a threat to the interests of
Russia, which would be forced to undertake `appropriate
counter-measures.’
Georgia was a colonial dependency of the Russian Empire, and later the
Soviet Union, since the late 18th century. Even after the USSR
collapsed, Moscow continued to bully Tbilisi. In 1992`1993, after
Georgia attempted to prevent secession of Abkhazia by force, Russia
armed and supported the Abkhaz separatists and deployed Chechen
`volunteers’ to fight alongside them. The result was the de-facto
secession of Abkhazia and the ethnic cleansing of over 300,000
Georgians from their homes. The notorious late Islamist warlord Shamil
Basaev, later the military leader of the Chechen rebels, fought in
Abkhazia in the early 1990s as a Russian mercenary. Abkhazia has
turned into a cigarette-smuggling criminal gang heaven.
In March 2006, the Kremlin slapped economic sanctions on Tbilisi,
including restrictions on the importation of Georgian wine, mineral
water, fruits, and vegetables. Georgia used to export 90 percent of
its wine to Russia. In September 2006, after Georgia briefly arrested
four Russian military intelligence officers, the Russian government
imposed a ban on entry visas for Georgians, affecting hundreds of
thousands who work in Russia and support their families back
home. Russia severed all air, rail, and postal communications with
Georgia as part of its punishment. In December 2006, the Russian
energy giant Gazprom more than doubled the price of natural gas,
previously sold to Georgia at a deep discount. And in August 2007, two
Russian Su-24 ground attack jets launched a 1,000 kg precision-guided
missile near a village 50 miles north of Tbilisi.
This month, however, Putin ordered the lifting of visa restrictions,
initiated bilateral talks to discuss the resumption of Georgian
exports to Russia, and reopened a border crossing between the two
countries. He also ordered commercial passenger flights and postal
links reestablished. The relaxation of the visa restrictions and
lifting of the trade ban appear designed to soften the impact of
Moscow’s expansion of ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Washington should not allow Russian opposition to a NATO MAP for
Georgia to become an issue between the U.S. and its European
allies. Instead, NATO countries should show unity in the face of a
Russian assault on Georgia’s territorial integrity. In response to
Moscow’s heavy-handed policies against Georgia, the U.S. and its
European allies should denounce Russian occupation of Abkhazia. US and
the European countries should coordinate a diplomatic response, taking
Russia’s expansionist rhetoric and performance seriously and launch
vigorous protests against them.
The West should heed Georgia’s call to convene emergency meetings at
the U.N. Security Council and the OSCE to discuss Russia’s decision to
expand its ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia and express full
support of Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,
Washington and the European capitals should support Georgia’s demand
that Russia pull out its Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
`peacekeeping’ contingents from the two breakaway regions and replace
them with a U.N. and/or OSCE-approved peacekeeping force that could
include Ukrainian, Romanian, and Polish peacekeepers.
Russia’s behavior toward Georgia should serve as a warning to its
neighbors, Europe and the U.S. Georgia may be a new canary in the
geopolitical mine of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. But Moscow may in the
future support the Armenian actions to incorporate Nagorno-Karabakh
into the Armenian state. Thus, it is also a threat to Azerbaijan.
The Kremlin is testing Western resolve to stand up to its ambitions
and to its allies’ appetites in the post-Soviet space. Failure to stop
Russian interventionism in Georgia ` or the Armenian agenda in
Karabakh — could mean opening the floodgates of border revisions and
destabilization, masquerading as `defense of co-ehtnic citizens’ in
the CIS.
This may be a prescription for escalating conflicts in Europe’
neighborhood to the east. Europe, eventually, would not be able to
ignore them. In turn, the U.S. and Europe could offer Russia
incentives if it abandons its attempts to absorb Abkhazia and South
Ossetia into the Russian Federation or to recognize their
independence.