Russia’s withdrawal from the treaty imposing sanctions on breakaway Abkhazia is “immoral and dangerous,” Georgian officials have said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on March 6 announcing the country’s withdrawal from the 1996 treaty citing “changed circumstances.”
The treaty, which bans trade, economic, financial, transport and other links with Abkhazia, was signed by 12 members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In its statement the Russian Foreign Ministry also called on other CIS member states to also abandon sanctions on Abkhazia.
The announcement comes two weeks after the Georgian side called on Russia to meet commitments made in the 1996 treaty. President Saakashvili said on February 26 that he had raised the issue during his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on February 21 in Moscow. Saakashvili said: “[Russia] should meet its commitments regarding the CIS sanctions. You know, that these sanctions have been formally in force since 1996 against Abkhazia. Many of these sanctions fail to prove effective and we categorically demand that the Russian leadership fully implement these sanctions against those people, who carried out ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia.”
Davit Bakradze, the Georgian foreign minister, and Temur Iakobashvili, the Georgian state minister for reintegration issues, have both strongly condemned Russia’s decision.
“This is an immoral and very dangerous decision,” Bakradze, currently in Brussels, said on March 6. “This is immoral because thousands of people, who were forced to leave Abkhazia [as a result of the conflict in the early 90s] are still unable to return to their homes. This is a dangerous [decision] because by doing so we are moving into a totally new phase.”
“With this decision, we are moving to a new stage and we will definitely raise the issue that Russia is now a side in the conflict,” Iakobashvili said, adding that the conflict participants could not act as peacekeepers. Russia has peacekeeping troops in the Abkhaz conflict zone.
Iakobashvili also claimed that information outlined in the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement was “a lie.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted in its statement that the objective of the treaty was to convince Abkhazia to assume “a more flexible position,” primarily, on the return of refugees and internally displaced persons.
“Today, the situation has dramatically changed. The majority of refugees of Georgian nationality have returned to the Gali district. Extending this process is prevented by the refusal of Georgia to agree to the rules of their registration proposed by UNHCR,” it said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also praised the Abkhaz side for, as it put it, “fulfilling its obligations on key agreements” and for its readiness to undertake "practical steps for strengthening confidence and security." At the same time the Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the Georgian side for “not demonstrating a similar constructive approach to fulfilling earlier commitments” and for undermining the negotiation process.
“Against this background, maintaining prohibitions established by [the 1996 treaty] is completely pointless, and prevents a realization of socio-economic programs in the region, forcing Abkhaz people into unjustified suffering,” the Foreign Ministry added.
Nino Burjanadze, the Georgian parliamentary chairperson, said that the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement was “a provocation.”
“This statement is totally unacceptable and alarming and I hope it will be followed by an appropriate response from our American and European friends,” Burjanadze, also in Brussels, said on March 6.
The proposed lifting of sanctions comes at the same time as possible Abkhaz involvement in the preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, which is less than 40 kilometers from the breakaway region, has resurfaced.
Russian Transport Minister Yuri Levitin told Russian lawmakers in the State Duma on March 5 that the use of Sokhumi airport in the preparation stages would significantly help in resolving some logistical and transport problems.
The Georgian foreign minister said in response that Abkhazia’s involvement in preparations for the Games without Tbilisi’s consent would amount to annexation.
It would also constitute a breach of the sanctions regime.
