Politics
Eka Tkeshelashvili: Russian Actions in South Ossetia “Dangerous”
Reading Time: 7 minutesGeorgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said Russia “does not show any intent of being constructive in bringing positive change” to the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
In an exclusive interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Georgian Service, Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said Russia "does not show any intent of being constructive in bringing positive change" to the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"On the contrary, Russia continues to be very dangerous with its actions on the ground," she said during a visit to RFE/RL Headquarters in Prague.
Tkeshelashvili described the August conflict as a "losing game" for Russia, arguing that "the aims that Russia had for Georgia were not served at all" by the fighting. She noted that the Georgian government is still in place, the country has not re-oriented away from the West, and relations between Georgia and NATO and the EU are still strong.
She also discussed Georgia’s hope of being offered a NATO Membership Action Plan in December when NATO’s Defense Ministers meet and praised President Mikhail Shaakashvili’s recent choice of Georgia’s Ambassador to Turkey, Grigol Mgaloblishvili, as his Prime Minister-designate.
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Foreign Minister Tkeshelashvili at RFE/RL headquarters on October 28, 2008 |
Full transcript:
RFE/RL: Tbilisi has long sought to internationalize the frozen conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On the one hand this has now happened to a large extent, albeit at great cost. But on the other hand, many observers say both regions might now be lost to Georgia and Russia is digging in ever deeper. Under these conditions, how does Tbilisi plan to bring these regions back?
Eka Tkeshelashvili: We understand that it will not be an easy process. But at the same time, it is a process that we have to be very constructive and serious about. It is not just a matter of how the state of Georgia is arranged, it concerns a lot of people, hundreds of thousands of people who have been expelled from their homes. When we speak about the solution to this conflict we speak about how the lives of these people will be arranged. They do want to go to their homes to arrange their lives and have secure and dignified conditions in which to live.
That’s the top priority for us while having negotiations to find a solution to the conflicts. The territorial integrity of Georgia will always be an issue that will be the foundation for us in any talks and any negotiations. But this approach to human lives and human rights will always be the guiding principle for us.
RFE/RL: Given how much Russia appears to be digging in both in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, how will you be able to accomplish these goals?
Tkeshelashvili: It needs to be a coordinated effort of the international community. We have confidence that we will be successful of that will be the case.
Russia so far does not show any intent of being constructive and bringing positive changes to the situation. Russia continues to be very dangerous in its actions on the ground. Russia has an obligation to withdraw back to the lines [of where forces were] on August 6. This means the withdrawal of forces from the whole territory of Georgia, including South Ossetia and Abkhazia. But what Russia is doing is bringing more soldiers on the ground. We don’t see constructive steps on the Russian side. We see something that directly contravenes the obligations it has subscribed to while signing the cease-fire agreement.
RFE/RL: Both Russia and separatist authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been accusing Georgian police forces of "provocations" along both administrative borders. Georgia, of course, has denied this and the head of the EU observer mission, Hansjoerg Haber, says the allegations have little merit. What exactly is happening along those administrative borders? Is there a risk that armed conflict could again break out again?
Tkeshelashvili: I think that Russia has a clear intent not to allow the situation to stabilize in a proper way so that it withdraws and there are international mechanisms to insure security on the ground in the region of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and we start the return of IDPs [internally displaced persons] and refugees in a secure and dignified manner.
Russia is trying to maintain this open platform from which a small degree — or perhaps a large degree — of provocations can be arranged from the side of Russia. This is why Russia does everything not to allow international observers, including EU observers which have a mandate to do so, to enter into the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia so that they bring transparency with them and better assurances of security."
RFE/RL: What do you think Russia’s aims were in the conflict and do you think they achieved them?
Tkeshelashvili: When you look from an analytical standpoint, the aims Russia had while invading Georgia have not been served, at all. There is no government change in Georgia, there is no reorientation of Georgia from the West to Russia, and the doors to NATO and the EU have not been closed to Georgia. The world and Europe still speaks very strongly about the diversification of energy resources and their independence from Russian [energy supplies].
So in that sense, Russia is pretty much losing the game in that sense. All that it achieved is its disastrous and isolated recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. That’s not something that Russia was seeking in this case.
‘Same Pretext’ In Crimea
RFE/RL: Russia is building permanent military bases in Java in South Ossetia and in Gudauta and Ochamchira in Abkhazia. There has even been speculation that Russia might move the Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol to the deep-water port in Ochamchira. Assuming that this is something that Tbilisi doesn’t want to happen, what — if anything — can be done to prevent this?
Tkeshelashvili: I personally don’t think that Russia is willing to move this fleet from Ukraine. It is just making the appearance of doing so. The whole issue of Crimea and Ukraine is very serious for Russia. The fear is that Russia will be very active in Ukraine [attempting to] change the politics so that Ukraine becomes again dependent on Russia instead of aspiring to be part of the Western community.
In Crimea the information we have is very troubling and disturbing. The same pattern that has been used in Georgia, in a sense, distributing Russian passports to the people who reside in those regions so they have the same pretext as they used in Georgia. Russia is acting in a very dangerous way, disregarding not only the fundamental principles of international law, but very specific obligations under the cease-fire agreement.
Having bases open in South Ossetia and Abkhazia contravenes not only the fundamental principle of international law under which you have to respect a sovereign state and its territorial integrity, but also the principles laid down in the cease-fire agreement as well. If Russia does so, we alone cannot be successful in trying to make obstacles to this process. That’s where the international community has to step in.
RFE/RL: Russian officials have blamed Ukraine for arming Georgia during the conflict with South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Do these accusations have any merit?
Tkeshelashvili: I don’t think it has any merit at all. If you look at it, every sovereign state has an obligation to be a well-developed state in all senses. When we came to the government after the Rose Revolution [in 2003], it [Georgia] was a failed state in all respects including the military. We inherited old, outdated infrastructure, disastrous bases, disastrous munitions. We were falling far behind any criteria that a modern civilized state would aspire to. This was not a militarization of Georgia. It was a proper buildup of the features of statehood in that sense.
Russia again takes the liberty of commenting on what a sovereign state has the liberty of doing in terms of its own priorities. That is not something that it has the luxury of doing. We have always stated everything openly and transparently towards organizations that do monitor states’ actions in the military field. We will continue to do so in a way that is open with the international community and with those organizations are represented. So Russia can blame us for doing this or that, but it is an internal issue of the sovereign state of Georgia and an internal issue of the sovereign state of Ukraine, rather than Russia.
RFE/RL: NATO defense ministers are meeting in December. Do you expect Georgia to be granted a Membership Action Plan (MAP) to join the alliance at that time?
Tkeshelashvili: First of all, there is an exaggeration about the issue of a MAP, as if a MAP is already membership. The sense is that if you receive a MAP, you’re in the club and if you don’t, you are behind the door for the continuous future.
A MAP is a road map to membership. We do think that in Bucharest it was a mistake that we didn’t receive a MAP. On one hand, the alliance decided that we would become members, but there was hesitation in terms of the road map to membership. Russia undertook this challenge, this hesitation. Now in December [at the defense ministers meeting], the important thing is that NATO stated [earlier] very clearly that the door is as open as ever. That was decided in Bucharest. Russia did not achieve its primary goal of closing NATO’s door to Georgia — full stop.
But it will be a process where we will have to have a common understanding with the alliance about what will be the features of the road map and when we finally see a decision-making process on that. We would hope that the first assessment in December would be the final one so that we get the MAP. But at the same time, its not the end of the world if we don’t because we do believe that ultimately Georgia will become a member of NATO and this will be something that Russia will not be able to change, however much it struggles with that.
RFE/RL: President Mikheil Saakashvili has named Grigol Mgaloblishvili, the current Georgian ambassador to Turkey, as his prime minister-designate. Can you say a few words about him? If he is confirmed by parliament, do you expect to be in the new cabinet?
Tkeshelashvili: He is a high-level professional. He has proven this in many posts as a public servant. In Turkey, his work was productive not just in terms of diplomacy but also for the economy. He did a lot to increase Turkish investment in Georgia. I have no question whatsoever that he will be a successful prime minister.
As for myself, I have served for many years in different positions according to what was in the best interests of the country. I see myself continuing to serve my country wherever it will be needed.
A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.
International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.
Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.
Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.
Is it Moldova?
First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.
At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”
What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.
“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.
Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.
Is it a victory?
In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.
Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.
“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”
Is it only about football?
FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.
The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.
Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.
Photo: unknown
Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu, pay an official visit to Brussels, between September 27-28, being invited by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles.
Today, Prime Minister had a meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Moldovan PM thanked the senior European official for the support of the institution in strengthening democratic processes, reforming the judiciary and state institutions, economic recovery and job creation, as well as increasing citizens’ welfare. Natalia Gavrilita expressed her confidence that the current visit laid the foundations for boosting relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, so that, in the next period, it would be possible to advance high-level dialogues on security, justice and energy. Officials also exchanged views on priorities for the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in December.
“The EU is open to continue to support the Republic of Moldova and the ambitious reform agenda it proposes. Moldova is an important and priority partner for us,” said Charles Michel.
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita also met with Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, expressing her gratitude for the support received through the OMNIBUS macro-financial assistance program. The two officials discussed the need to advance the recovery of money from bank fraud, to strengthen sustainable mechanisms for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova, and to standardize the customs and taxes as one of the main conditions for deepening cooperation with the EU in this field.
Additionally, Prime Minister spoke about the importance of the Eastern Partnership and the Deep Free Trade Agreement, noting that the Government’s policies are aimed at developing an economic model aligned with the European economic model, focused on digitalization, energy efficiency and the green economy.
A common press release of the Moldovan Prime Minister with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, took place today, where the agenda of Moldova’s reforms and the main priorities to focus on in the coming months were presented: judiciary reform; fighting COVID-19 pandemic; promoting economic recovery and conditions for growth and job creation; strengthening state institutions and resilience of the country.
“I am here to relaunch the dialogue between my country and the European Union. Our partnership is strong, but I believe there is room for even deeper cooperation and stronger political, economic and sectoral ties. I am convinced that this partnership is the key to the prosperity of our country and I hope that we will continue to strengthen cooperation.”
The Moldovan delegation met Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Tomorrow, there are scheduled common meetings with Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport and Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.
Prime Minister will also attend a public event, along with Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.
Photo: gov.md
Politics
Promo-LEX about Maia Sandu’s UN speech: The president must insist on appointing a rapporteur to monitor the situation of human rights in Transnistria
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to New York, USA, between September 21-22. There, she participates in the work of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a press release of the President’s Office, the official will deliver a speech at the tribune of the United Nations.
In this context, the Promo-LEX Association suggested the president to request the appointment of a special rapporteur in order to monitor the situation of human rights in the Transnistrian region. According to Promo-LEX, the responsibility for human rights violations in the Transnistrian region arises as a result of the Russian Federation’s military, economic and political control over the Tiraspol regime.
“We consider it imperative to insist on the observance of the international commitments assumed by the Russian Federation regarding the withdrawal of the armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the country,” the representatives of Promo-LEX stated. They consider the speech before the UN an opportunity “to demand the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Russian Federation with reference to this territory which is in its full control.”
“It is important to remember about the numerous cases of murder, torture, ill-treatment, forced enlistment in illegal military structures, the application of pseudo-justice in the Transnistrian region, all carried out under the tacit agreement of the Russian Federation. These findings stem from dozens of rulings and decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Russia is responsible for human rights violations in the region.”
The association representatives expressed their hope that the president of the country would give priority to issues related to the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region and would call on relevant international actors to contribute to guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms throughout Moldova.
They asked Maia Sandu to insist on the observance of the obligation to evacuate the ammunition and the military units of the Russian Federation from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, to publicly support the need for the Russian Federation to implement the ECtHR rulings on human rights violations in the Transnistrian region, and to request the appointment of an UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.
**
The Promo-LEX Association concluded that 14 out of 25 actions planned within the National Action Plan for the years 2018–2022 concerning respecting human rights in Transnistria were not carried out by the responsible authorities.
The association expressed its concern and mentioned that there are a large number of delays in the planned results. “There is a lack of communication and coordination between the designated institutions, which do not yet have a common vision of interaction for the implementation of the plan.”
Promo-LEX requested the Government of the Republic of Moldova to re-assess the reported activities and to take urgent measures, “which would exclude superficial implementation of future activities and increase the level of accountability of the authorities.”
Photo: peacekeeping.un.org
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