What’s Wrong with Settling the Abkhazian Problem?

The Dilis Gazeti

(Georgian Press Digest. Civil Georgia. 17.11.01) – According to the OSCE Istanbul agreement Russia was to withdraw Gudauta military base located in Abkhazia by July 1, 2001. Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry made an announcement on November 9 claiming that the Russian Federation had pulled out military troops and equipment from the base. Georgian side asked for documentation of the announcement but got no answer. The Dilis Gazeti talks about the problem of Abkhazian.

“Our northern neighbor is so impudent that claims that Gudauta military base is already canceled and pulled out from Georgia”, the paper says. Relying on the fact that the base was not documentarily passed to the Georgian Defense Ministry makes the paper think that the base has not been canceled.

If the military base was indeed pulled out from Georgia then why was not the process transparent and why was the Georgian side as well as the international society informed about it postfactum only? – the paper wonders.

“Whatever Moscow regards as the cancellation of the base makes us concerned also: only 24 pieces of heavy vehicles out of 34 were pulled out and the rest 10 were driven to the peacekeeping block posts in Kodori gorge. According to official information of Russia, 375 soldiers were also dispatched to the peacekeeping operation zone and personnel of 600 was left on the base territory”, the Dilis Gazeti reports. Georgian Foreign Affairs Ministry is interested on which basis 600 soldiers were left in the canceled Gudauta military base.

Officials talk about replacing Russian peacekeepers located in Abkhazia with other forces nowadays. Head of the Georgian Representation of Helsinki Citizens Assembly Aleksandr Rusetski told the paper that those displaced from Abkhazia should take active part in the negotiation process. “International military contingent should be dispatched in the conflict zone afterwards only”, Rusetski assumes. According to him, fait of Abkhazia very much depends on the meeting of George Bush and Vladimir Putin. 

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Merab Antadze states that it was clearly said at the UN Security Council meeting held on October 30 that Russia hinders the process of Georgian-Abkhazian negotiations.

“It seems such facts are still regarded important in governmental structures”, the Dilis Gazeti states. The paper does not regard the statement significant especially since countries of the commonwealth blamed also Georgian as well as Abkhazian sides in the unsettlement of the problem at that same Council meeting.