|
Georgia politics: Patching up Russian relations
(EIU Viewswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)
COUNTRY BRIEFING
Relations with Russia plummeted to an all time low in late 2006, when
Russia withdrew its ambassador, imposed an economic blockade and deported
a number of Georgians from Russia. During the period under review a number
of attempts were made to repair some of the damage, although relations
remain tense. In January Russia's ambassador to Georgia, Vyacheslav
Kovalenko, returned to Tbilisi. Upon his arrival, he suggested that
relations between the two countries could improve and bore a message from
Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, underlining the neighbourly and
friendly relations enjoyed by the two countries for centuries.
However, there were suggestions that Russia's move to resume diplomatic
ties was prompted less by a genuine desire to improve relations and more
to avoid being censured by the parliamentary assembly of the Organisation
for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The parliamentary assembly
was due to debate Georgian-Russian relations and in particular the
deportation of Georgians from Russia in late January. Following the
resumption of diplomatic ties, the OSCE parliamentary assembly resolved to
postpone the debate until April, but assigned two observers to monitor and
report on Georgian-Russian relations. In an interview with a Russian radio
station, the Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili, also adopted a more
conciliatory tone, arguing that both sides had made mistakes that had led
to a deterioration in relations. In particular, he drew attention to the
rhetoric used by both sides. However, he also warned that Russia should
accept Georgia as an independent country with its own policy.
A further point of disagreement remains Russia's accession to the World
Trade Organisation (WTO). As Georgia has, at least on paper, a veto on
Russia's membership, it is still trying to tie its assent to enhanced
monitoring of the border crossings from Russia into Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. Goods and people can currently cross these borders with some
ease. As Georgia has no control over these regions it also has no control
over the borders. In effect Georgia wants its own customs officials to
monitor trade, or, failing that, for the borders to be closed. Russia
believes that a small country such as Georgia has no right to block its
entry to the WTO, particularly as the US has dropped all its objections.
SOURCE: Country Report
SOURCE: Country Report
Copyright 2007 Economist Intelligence Unit
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
