Georgia and Russia May Resume Air Traffic

Air flights may resume between Moscow and Tbilisi over Christmas in a tentative sign that the 2008 war foes are limping toward some form of cautious rapprochement.

Georgian Airways, a private carrier, requested Russian transportation officials to allow it to operate charter flights from December 26, 2009 through January 15, 2010, said Georgian Airways spokesperson Nino Giorgobiani. The company hopes that Moscow's stated willingness to resume flights will be matched by actions, she added. "We are looking to see if they mean what they say and this was not just a PR campaign," Giorgobiani said at a December 22 news conference.

Speaking at a December 9 media forum, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that he is open to the idea of restoring flights between Moscow and Tbilisi, frozen for over three years despite intermittent attempts at restoration.

The Russian transportation ministry said that it will respond to Georgian Airways' request within a few days, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

Tbilisi has sought to distance itself from the talks on resuming air communication. "The request was made by a private company and the Georgian government is not taking part in this process," Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze told a news conference on December 22.

A similar distance has been taken toward ongoing negotiations via intermediary Armenia about the reopening of the Georgian-Russian land border at Upper Larsi in northeastern Georgia.

Politically, however, there appears little hope for any immediate normalization of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Russia. Post-war relations between the two have largely been limited to mutual accusations and proxy confrontations in international arenas, while domestic politicians on both sides strike nationalist notes that keep animosity running strong.

But while Medvedev and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have made it clear that they will not speak with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, they also state that they are looking to restore ties with Georgia.

The "clear message to Georgians is that we [Russia] will speak to politicians who are different from the current Georgian leadership," commented Mamuka Areshidze, an independent Caucasus analyst in Tbilisi.

Some opposition politicians in Georgia have been quick to seize the opportunity and have promoted their alleged ability to reach out to Moscow as an advantage over Saakashvili.

Former Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli has become the most energetic figure in this group of late, setting off on December 22 on his fourth trip to Moscow since October. Noghaideli's party, Movement for a Fair Georgia, claim that the ex-prime minister has held negotiations to resume direct flights with Georgia with Russian officials, as well as played a central role in the recent release of three Georgian teenagers held by breakaway South Ossetia.

In Georgian television news broadcasts, Saakashvili loyalists countered that Moscow is using Noghaideli's visits as an opportunity to erode Georgians' trust in the Saakashvili government.

Russia shut its skies to Georgian planes in 2006 when Tbilisi arrested and expelled four Russian officers on espionage charges. An angered Moscow then banned all passenger and cargo traffic with Georgia, stopped imports of Georgian agricultural products, mineral water and wine, and deported as many as 153 Georgian nationals.

Flights briefly resumed in March 2008, but soon ground to a halt again with the outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia four-and-a-half months later. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive.]