EURASIA INSIGHT
2/14/05
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During inauguration ceremonies in Georgia’s separatist region of Abkhazia, the territory’s new "president," Sergei Bagapsh, vowed to press ahead with efforts to forge a "strategic union with Russia." Bagapsh’s comments have contributed to another spike in tension between Georgia and Russia.
After taking
the oath of office
on February 12,
Bagapsh’s
made it clear
that Abkhazia
would not back
down from its
effort to break
away from Georgia.
"I swear
that I shall defend
the freedom of
independence of
Abkhazia, and
that our children
will live in a
free, independent
land with a market
economy,"
he said in his
inaugural address.
Abkhazia has operated
beyond Tbilisi’s
reach since the
defeat of Georgian
forces in a 1992-93
war. [For
additional information
see the Eurasia
Insight archive].
Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili
has made the country’s
territorial integration
his top policy
priority. [For
background see
the Eurasia Insight
archive].
The highly contentious
presidential election
in Abkhazia featured
a heavy-handed
Russian support
for Bagapsh’s
rival. [For
background see
the Eurasia Insight
archive].
The bungled Russian
effort raised
hopes in Tbilisi
that Bagapsh might
downgrade the
region’s
relations with
Moscow, and look
for a rapprochement
opportunity with
Georgia. The inaugural
speech, however,
appeared to dash
any hopes for
a fast thaw in
the Abkhaz-Georgian
relationship.
Though he wasn’t
Russia’s
first choice,
Bagapsh is not
about to shun
Moscow.
"We will continue everything that was started by the previous leadership," Bagapsh told the Russian RBK television channel, referring to former Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba’s administration. He pledged to strive for "the closest possible integration" with Russia. "The Russian Federation is practically our only partner with who our trade relations are functioning properly," he said.
Bagapsh wasted little time in putting his team in place in Sukhumi. On February 14, he appointed Alexander Ankvab as "prime minister" of the unrecognized republic, the Civil Georgia website reported. Ankvab has strong ties to the region’s security apparatus and is a well-known Bagapsh ally.
Abkhazia is just
one of several
sources of contention
between Georgia
and Russia. Talks
on February 11
aimed at ending
an impasse on
the fate of two
Russian military
bases in Georgia
failed to make
headway. [For
background see
the Eurasia Insight
archive].
Discussions on
the base issue,
which centers
on the timetable
for Russian withdrawal,
could revive February
18, when Russian
Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov
is scheduled to
visit Georgia.
Meanwhile, top
Russian and Georgian
leaders traded
angry words at
a security conference
in Munich, Germany.
Russian Defense
Minister Sergei
Ivanov repeated
Moscow’s
assertions that
Tbilisi has been
lax in preventing
"terrorists"
from using Georgia
as a transit country,
as they travel
to Chechnya to
join the long-running
insurgent struggle
against Russian
forces. [For
background see
the Eurasia Insight
archive].
"We have wiped out many foreign mercenaries during military operations in Chechnya who had Georgian tourist visas in their passports," Ivanov was quoted as saying by the Kavkasia-Press news agency. Ivanov went on to criticize Georgia for refusing Moscow’s offers to assist Tbilisi in training border guards. He also reasserted Moscow’s right to launch a pre-emptive strike anywhere in the world in order to reduce the terrorist threat against Russia.
Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili expressed "outrage" over Ivanov’s remarks. Georgian border guard officials in Tbilisi likewise denied that they turned a blind eye toward militants seeking to cross the Georgian frontier into Chechnya.
Posted February 14, 2005 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org
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meetings, papers, and grants, to foster a more informed
debate about the social, political and economic
developments of the Caucasus and Central Asia.
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