Don't heave a sigh of relief just yet about Georgia's pledge to not use force against Russia or Abkhazia and South Ossetia in a bid to reclaim the two breakaway territories. Russia says it wants Tbilisi to sign the pledge with the Abkhaz and South Ossetian de facto governments.
In a fiery November 23 speech to the European Parliament, Saakashvili expressed the hope that the pledge should put Tbilisi and Moscow back on speaking terms after a two-year break. The commitment, which echoes US and European suggestions, comes in response to Russia’s insistence on signing non-use of force treaties between Tbilisi and the separatist regions.
Later that evening, Tbilisi allowed Russian consular officers to meet with four Russian citizens detained by Georgia on espionage charges, Interfax reported a source in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying.
Saakashvili's statement followed an assertion by British Prime Minister David Cameron that both US President Barack Obama and he had raised the issue of Russia's ongoing troop presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia with Moscow during last week's NATO-Russia Summit.
But the thaw could be long in coming. In a story entitled "Moscow Doesn't Believe in Words" (a play on the title of the Soviet film classic "Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears"), Interfax on November 24 reported that the Russian foreign ministry believes that discussions with Saakashvili are "possible," but "pointless."
"As before, Saakashvili is trying to convince the international community about the existence of some conflict between Russia and Georgia, while attention should focus on the longtime conflict between Tbilisi and the peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia" which led to the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry went on to say that Moscow wants to see Saakashvili’s words sealed in writing with legally binding agreements on the non-use-of-force between Tbilisi and the separatist capitals.
The head of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee, Konstantin Kosachev, suggested that Russia could act as a guarantor of the deal -- a suggestion likely to spark a wry chuckle in Georgia. But Kosachev maintained that Saakashvili's call for the European Parliament to term Abkhazia and South Ossetia occupied territories essentially put the kibosh on any chance for Russian dialogue with Georgia. “This is a total dead end, which renders impossible the resumption of contacts [between Moscow and Tbilisi],” he said.
In a November 22 interview with Le Figaro, though, Saakashvili claimed that he is willing to wait Moscow out: "It's necessary to show strategic patience, which can lead not only to the total liberation of our territory, but also to a reconciliation with Russia."
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
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