In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Links: Georgia objects to Russian involvement in Abkhazia
Background: Georgian spy plane shot down, and life in Abkhazia
Opinion & Analysis: The tense international situation
Related Link: ‘Are the Colors of Post-Soviet Revolution Fading?’
Reference: Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia
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Hostility Mounts Between Russia and Georgia
April 28, 2008 04:03 PM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
The conflict over the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has escalated as Russia strengthens ties with the areas.
30-Second Summary
Russia is reputedly sending reinforcements to Georgia’s breakaway republic of Abkhazia, and “local residents were being forced to swap their ID cards for Russian passports,” reports The Moscow Times.
Although Russian-led peacekeeping forces have denied such actions are being taken, Georgian television station Rustavi 2 and Georgia’s minister for reintegration, Temur Iakobashvili, maintain that the passport exchanges have indeed taken place.
Last week, Russia-Georgia tension increased sharply after an unmanned Georgian spy plane was shot down in Abkhazia. Moscow denied Georgian accusations that Russia downed the plane, claming that Abkhazia air defenses were responsible. Russia also charged that by sending the plane into the region, Georgia had violated the 1994 ceasefire.
The current conflict stems from the separatist unrest Georgia faced in Abkhazia and South Ossetia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1993, Georgian troops were forced out of the region, and Russia has supported Abkhazian opposition ever since.
The Russia-Georgia conflict will be addressed at this week’s NATO Council meeting in Brussels.
Moscow’s feud with Georgia has also strained its relations with the United States. Although Washington has backed Georgia’s bid to join NATO, Russia’s opposition has pressured other members of the organization into denying Georgian membership.
Although Russian-led peacekeeping forces have denied such actions are being taken, Georgian television station Rustavi 2 and Georgia’s minister for reintegration, Temur Iakobashvili, maintain that the passport exchanges have indeed taken place.
Last week, Russia-Georgia tension increased sharply after an unmanned Georgian spy plane was shot down in Abkhazia. Moscow denied Georgian accusations that Russia downed the plane, claming that Abkhazia air defenses were responsible. Russia also charged that by sending the plane into the region, Georgia had violated the 1994 ceasefire.
The current conflict stems from the separatist unrest Georgia faced in Abkhazia and South Ossetia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1993, Georgian troops were forced out of the region, and Russia has supported Abkhazian opposition ever since.
The Russia-Georgia conflict will be addressed at this week’s NATO Council meeting in Brussels.
Moscow’s feud with Georgia has also strained its relations with the United States. Although Washington has backed Georgia’s bid to join NATO, Russia’s opposition has pressured other members of the organization into denying Georgian membership.
Headline Links: Georgia objects to Russian involvement in Abkhazia
The Situation in Abkhazia worsened “amid reports that Russian military reinforcements were being deployed in Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia and local residents were being forced to swap their ID cards for Russian passports,” reports The Moscow Times.
Source: The Moscow Times
On Wednesday, April 30, the NATO Council will hold a special meeting in Brussels during which Georgia will address the recent conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. “Apart from the North Atlantic Alliance we are also taking the issue to the European Union,” said special envoy of the Georgian President David Bakradze.
Source: Russia Today
Background: Georgian spy plane shot down, and life in Abkhazia
An April 23, 2008, article from the Associated Press reports on the downing of a Georgian spy plane in Abkhazia and the ensuing dispute. Georgia accused Russia of shooting down its plane, while Russia denied the charges and claimed that Abkhazia air defenses were responsible. Moscow also upbraided Georgia for violating a 1994 cease-fire by entering Abkhazian airspace with a spy plane.
Source: International Herald Tribune
“Fifteen years since its bloody war with Georgia, the breakaway republic of Abkhazia is a surreal spot where Soviet isolation lingers, the Cold War never ended, and people cling to facades of statehood. It is a half-abandoned place of rusting ports and skeleton homes in a land recognized by nobody,” The Boston Globe writes.
Source: The Boston Globe
Opinion & Analysis: The tense international situation
Writing in Russian paper Kommersant, Carnegie Moscow Center expert Alexey Malashenko argues that Georgian President Saakashvili has only two options in dealing with the breakaway regions. Either intervene militarily against Russia or don’t intervene. According to Malashenko, military intervention would be the better decision for him, because even the likely case of a military defeat “will turn out a political victory for President Saakashvili.”
Source: Kommersant
An op-ed in The Washington Times by Senators Joseph Biden and Richard Lugar criticizes NATO’s recent failure to provide membership Action Plans (MAPs) to Ukraine and the Republic of Georgia because of Russian opposition. “Washington must lead an intensive international diplomatic counteroffensive against Russia's efforts to destabilize Georgia and the region,” the senators argue.
Source: The Washington Times
Elizabeth Fuller, an analyst for Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, tells the Council on Foreign Relations that “Russia has never intended to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia. If Russia had done that, after it protested the recognition of Kosovo, it would have laid itself open to allegations of double standards.” She says that Russia may be seeking the idea of a “joint state” of Abkhazia-Georgia instead.
Source: The Council on Foreign Relations
Related Link: ‘Are the Colors of Post-Soviet Revolution Fading?’
According to a January 18, 2008, findingDulcinea article, “The three ‘color revolutions’ of 2003–2005 were each distinct, but shared one trait in being the peaceful expression of popular political will. Recent events have raised questions about the legacies of the revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.”
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference: Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia
The BBC examines the recent history of Georgia, particularly following Soviet rule. “During his [former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze] 11 years in office, the Georgian people felt increasingly at the mercy of poverty, corruption and crime.” Discontent led to the Rose Revolution in 2004 under the guidance of current President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Source: The BBC
Joseph Stalin incorporated Abkhazia into Georgia in 1910, and a number of Georgians settled in the region. “Georgian became the official language and the Abkhaz language and cultural rights were repressed,” according to The BBC. Georgia sent troops into Abkhaz in 1992 to quell opposition, and after much bloodshed, the troops left by the end of 1993. Abkhaz declared independence in 1994, but it still lacks international recognition.
Source: The BBC
Georgia opposes South Ossetia’s calls for independence, referring to the area as either Samachablo or the Tskhinvali region. Because South Ossetia implies “political bonds with North Ossetia,” Georgia sees the name as a threat to its “territorial integrity,” writes the BBC.
Source: The BBC
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