On the eve of the 5th anniversary of Russian-Georgian 5-day war of August 2008, an interesting episode was noted in Georgian-Russian relations: Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev gave an interview to Georgian Rustavi 2 TV. The very fact of the interview on the anniversary of August war in itself is noteworthy. And the messages voiced were even more interesting: the messages addressed to Georgian leadership, particularly to Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and the Georgian society were somewhat Moscow’s “lessons from Georgia” and were also addressed to Serzh Sargsyan who has to make a decision on signing association agreement with the EU this fall.
Medvedev referred to Michael Sahakashvili as a political criminal noting that back in 1990-s there were issues with country’s territorial integrity, adding that “no one prohibited the Georgians or the Georgian leadership to unite the country. It was to be done without hastiness by making arrangements. At some point there were chances to establish may be not a federation, but at least a confederation and to coexist. Those opportunities were missed, Sahakashvili tore his country apart”.
Further the Russian Prime Minister stated that the Eurasian Economic Community was not an effort to revive the former Soviet Union. Medvedev opined that Eurasian Economic Community is an effort of integration between neighbors to facilitate trade and investments, which may also be of interest for Georgia. He pointed out to the successful integration of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and added that he expects some “pragmatic steps” from Ivanishvili. He noted that Ivanishvili has got a tough legacy. “I met Ivanishvili in Davos and we had a brief conversation. I got the impression that he is a pragmatic who understands the importance of normalization of relations with Russia. Politicians should always be pragmatic and take decisions as necessitated by the situation without making fatal mistakes; they should try to address all the issues in the legal framework with consideration of international law and not through pressures or complaints to authorities on the other side of the ocean”.
Then the Russian Prime Minister reiterated Moscow’s official position almost resorting to threats that “NATO accession will not offer any development advantages to Georgia; however it may become a source of tension with Russia”. According to him the motive for possible tension would not be the events of 2008 in Caucasus but rather “Georgia’s becoming part of a strong military-political alliance which under certain circumstances is a potential adversary to Russia” He added that nuclear missiles of NATO are targeting Russia.
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Statements of Medvedev demonstrate Moscow’s final efforts not to leave the South Caucasus: the Kremlin recently has openly demonstrated its fight for South Caucasus. Moscow uses every opportunity possible to remind about its existence, about its interests and keeps talking about the Eurasian Economic Community, even turning to Georgian authorities.
Yesterday Turkish media reported that on August 13, 2013 President Putin will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan. In this situation, Armenia is staying face to face with the Kremlin. On the hand, Medvedev is telling Georgia of the consequences of joining NATO and, on the other hand, invites them to join the Eurasian Economic Community and then reminds the example of “criminal” Sahakashvili and the “lessons from Georgia” from the perspective of the Kremlin. The messages of the Kremlin on the eve of Armenia’s deepening relations with the EU are clearly for official Yerevan too. It’s hard to predict how Armenian authorities will overcome the pressures from Russia but it’s for sure that they have to handle them.
Emma GABRIELYAN
