Russia Recalls Ambassador From Georgia

[Felix the Cat]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6113409,00.html

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - Russia recalled its ambassador, announced the evacuation of its diplomats and complained to the United Nations on Thursday after Georgia detained five Russian officers on spying charges, bringing relations between the ex-Soviet neighbors to a new low.

Georgian authorities detained the officers Wednesday, prompting angry statements from Russia's defense minister, who denounced Georgia as a ``bandit'' state. Bilateral ties long have been strained over Georgia's bid to join NATO and Moscow's close links to Georgia's breakaway provinces.

Russia told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that Georgia's arrest of the five Russian officers and other actions were ``unacceptable and dangerous'' provocations.

``The message we conveyed to the Security Council today was not just a message of complaining about the current situation and expressing our concern but calling on the Security Council, on the international community, to exercise restraint on the Georgian authorities - because we don't want the situation in that troubled part of the world to further deteriorate,'' Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.

Moscow decided to launch a partial evacuation of Russian personnel and their families ``in connection with a growing threat to their security.'' It said government planes would begin taking Russians out of the country on Friday.

Mikhail Svirin, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Georgia, said Ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko, some of the staffers and all diplomats' families would also leave on Friday.

The Foreign Ministry alerted all Russians to refrain from traveling to Georgia, and the embassy in Tbilisi stopped issuing visas to Georgian citizens.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili denounced the Russian moves as ``hysteria.'' ``Russian personnel and their families face absolutely no threat here,'' he said.

Relations between Moscow and Tbilisi have become increasingly tense since Saakashvili came to power following Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution, pledging to move the country out of Russia's orbit.

Tbilisi officials have accused Russia of backing separatists in Georgia's breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and making efforts to undermine Saakashvili's government - allegations Russia has denied.

The latest flap was prompted when four Russian military intelligence officers were detained Wednesday in Tbilisi and the Black Sea port of Batumi on spying charges. A fifth officer was detained later that day, the Foreign Ministry said.

Georgian security forces cordoned the Russian military headquarters in Tbilisi for a second day Thursday, demanding the handover of another Russian officer accused of spying.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov called the charges against the officers absurd and demanded their immediate release. ``I won't be surprised if today the Georgian side files charges against them of wanting to steal the sun from the sky,'' Ivanov said on Russian television.

Speaking later on a trip to Slovenia, he said he had advised all Russian servicemen and their family members in Georgia against leaving their homes. ``Banditry in Georgia has reached state dimensions,'' he said in televised remarks.

He also claimed the detentions were part of Georgia's efforts to force Russia to withdraw its peacekeepers from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have enjoyed de-facto independence without international recognition since breaking away after bloody wars in the early 1990s.

Russia has also granted most residents of the two regions citizenship, and maintains two military bases in Georgia. One is to be closed in 2007; the other a year later.

``All this is done to squeeze our peacekeepers and to make their status illegitimate using any means, thus violating fragrantly all previous agreements,'' he said.

Saakashvili, who has vowed to bring Abkhazia and South Ossetia back into fold, accused Moscow last week of ``gangster occupation'' of the two provinces in a speech before the United Nations.

A Georgian political analyst, Ramaz Sakvarelidze, said the detentions could reflect Saakashvili's frustrations at being unable to regain control of the renegade provinces.

Sakvarelidze said because Saakashvili's Western allies would likely oppose Georgia retaking the regions by force, the Georgian government is increasing the political pressure on Russia. ``A spy scandal fits organically into such a scheme of action,'' he said.

[Incitatus]

I agree that Russia is reacting in a hysterical way. It's quite possible that these men arrested were indeed spies or infiltrants whose goal was destabilizing Georgia. If the government thinks there are people in their country who are a threat to national security, then they have every right to arrest them. Of course, this reminds the public of the days of brutal police states and that's why Russia is reacting in such a stereotypical way, hysterically demonizing Georgia because of an action which was just a matter of state security: they know the public and political leaders all over the world will take their side out of emo-political considerations. This might well be an indication that Russia knows Georgia was right, and that they are secretely supporting the separatists in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, thus undermining the Georgian government, state and unity.

I'm not saying I'm on the Georgian side here, and I don't know enough about the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia to choose sides. I'm just saying that from a Georgian point of view, it's understandable they did do this.

[Berianidze]

I'm by no means a fan of the Saakashvili government, but this is clearly not a Russian issue. Russia is illegitimately interfering with issues that do not pertain to it. And while I hate to see Georgia take a pro-west stance, I do not want to see its internal sutations dictated by another outside force. Diktator emphasized a key point--this does destabilize the Georgian state and government (although this itself is not necessarily a bad thing), but the fact that Russia is granting the people of Abkhazia and S. Ossetia citizenship is outrageous, as it completely undermines Georgian authority over the regions and institutes them with autonomy and sovereignty which simply have not been granted. This shouldn't be an issue at all--much less a Russian issue.

[Felix the Cat]

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav092906a.shtml

The espionage dispute between Georgia and Russia intensified September 29, with a statement from the Georgian Interior Ministry that Russian military "movements" had begun in territory bordering Georgia, and accusations from Moscow that the arrest of four Russian officers is part of a scheme to advance Georgia’s ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Preliminary hearings for the four Russian officers in Georgian custody have been held, while an evacuation of the families of Russian diplomats from Tbilisi has begun.

The Georgian Interior Ministry claimed that the government had detected signs of movement among Russian forces near the Georgian border, and preparations for "large-scale navy maneuvers in the Black Sea."

"Russia’s 58th Army, which is deployed in North Ossetia, is being mobilized and there is information that [the Army] is moving in [the] direction of Georgia," Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili told a news conference late September 28, according to a bulletin posted on the online news site Civil Georgia. "In addition, certain movements are being noticed on the Russian military base in Akhalkalaki [in southern Georgia]. I cannot understand why Russia needs [these] moves."

Moscow did not initially respond to the claim.

A Tbilisi city court September 29 ordered two Russian officers arrested in the Georgian capital, Dmitri Kazantsyev and Alexander Savva, and seven Georgian citizens to be held in pre-trial detention. The Russian consul in Georgia, Valeri Vasiliyev, told Rustavi-2 television that a lawyer for the officers had not been allowed into the courtroom. The Georgian Interior Ministry did not immediately comment on the allegation.

The court also passed the same ruling for Konstantin Pichugin, who has been accused of espionage, but who is believed to be inside Russia’s regional military headquarters, which remained surrounded by police for a second day. Moscow has refused to surrender Pichugin.

The two other officers in custody, Alexander Zavgorodny and Alexander Baranov, were arrested in the Black Sea port town of Batumi, and will have a separate hearing.

Russian Ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko, who has been recalled to Moscow for consultations, told local media that he would not return to Georgia until the four officers are released. "Georgia should release the Russian officers immediately and should apologize for their arrest," Kovalenko told reporters at Tbilisi airport.

A Russian plane left Tbilisi at 4:35pm carrying 51 Russian citizens, including 25 children. A second evacuation is planned for September 30, Andrei Popov, commander of Russian forces in the Caucasus, told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Television footage of the departure showed mostly women and children, dogged by photographers and television cameras, preparing to board an Ilyushin plane, while personnel loaded luggage and what appeared to be cases of Borjomi spring water, a key Georgian export that has been banned by Russia for alleged impurities. In response to questions from Georgian reporters, most departing Russians asserted that they plan to return.

Commenting on the evacuation, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili termed the event "an excessive move" and "a propagandistic gesture."

"Everyone knows that the Russians will never face any threat in Georgia," Saakashvili told reporters. "The Georgian people are very hospitable, and this is widely known. In Georgia, they are probably more secure than in their own state."

Meanwhile, attempts at dialogue continued to falter. A previously scheduled meeting between Georgian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Giorgi Manjgaladze and Russian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Grigory Karasin was canceled.

Russia on September 28 asked the United Nations Security Council to condemn Georgia for taking "dangerous and unacceptable" steps that could destabilize the region, but the initiative was not carried. Members have requested greater information about the situation.

While the international community considers its response, Moscow has criticized Georgia’s NATO ambitions for contributing to the crisis. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov implied that the arrest of the officers was part of Georgia’s plan to secure membership in the Western defense alliance, adding that Saakashvili had chosen the "military way" to resolve conflicts with the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "First, they want to get out the Russian peacekeepers by any means possible . . . then use force to resolve the conflicts . . . and then, submit their application to NATO," he told a news briefing in Slovenia broadcast by Russian State Television.

At a meeting between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Russian Council in Slovenia, Ivanov charged that unnamed NATO members have been supplying Georgia with military equipment. "Some members of NATO - shall we call them the younger generation? - are supplying Georgia with arms and ammunition of Soviet production," news agencies quoted Ivanov as saying in an apparent reference to Eastern European countries who joined the alliance in 2004.

Western members of NATO are reacting with caution. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called for "moderation and de-escalation" by both Georgia and Russia. De Hoop Scheffer went on to stress that "this is not an issue in where NATO will play any direct role."

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters that he had discussed the topic with Ivanov, and stated that the situation is "a subject of great interest" to Washington, the American Forces Press Service reported.

Reactions among Georgians to the spy spat differed.

"I am glad these spies were arrested. I hope that Georgia will not step aside from the chosen strategy in the future," Nuka Basharuli, a refugee from Abkhazia who now lives in Moscow. "But the recent developments are likely to have a negative impact on me and my family," he added referring to a possible worsening of attitudes among Russians towards the thousands of Georgians living and working in Russia.

The daily Georgian newspaper Rezonansi (Resonance) played on this worry with a front-page story September 29 that warned readers that massive deportations and arrests of Georgians in Russia will begin soon.

Others saw a political angle. "This spy arrest suits both countries in their struggle for votes," Giorgi Lezhava, a 26-year-old Tbilisi resident, said, "Russia pretends that it has no spies, while Georgia pretends that there is something extraordinary about Russian spies in Georgia. It’s all about politics."

Some Georgian opposition members have evaluated the recent developments as part of the government’s campaign strategy for nationwide local elections scheduled for October 5, while others maintain that Georgians should stand together in the face of Russian "aggression."

"The arrest of the Russian officers is definitely connected to the election campaign," David Berdzenishvili, a leader of the Republican Party, commented to EurasiaNet. "The authorities want to show that they are strong and able to destroy any enemy of Georgia."

David Zourabichvili, a parliamentarian from the Democratic Front uniting the Conservative and Republican Parties, took a different tact. The Russian officers’ activities constitute "an [act of] aggression and [a] threat towards the entire state and the Georgian people," Zourabichvili told a September 29 news briefing, Civil Georgia reported. "Against this background, we call on everyone [to unite] in order to avoid giving Russia a reason for speculation about alleged . . . fighting inside Georgia."

[Sulla the Dictator]

I support arming the Georgians if this continues.

[Berianidze]

I do not want Georgia to join NATO, nor do I want hostilities to continue--or worse--grow between Russia and Georgia. My only problem with this as stated before was the fact that Abkhazia and S. Ossetia are Georgian territories, and Russia is simply undermining the whole situation. However, to see Georgia join NATO would really be a kick in the face. I would want to see an anti-Western Georgian government, which would mean getting rid of Saakashvili. Now if the Russians wanted to help with that I'd be all for it, but not when it comes to these territories or their supposed sovereignty.

Saakashvili is corrupt, and so is his party (it should be called the "George Soros Revolution," not the "Rose Revolution.") This is precisely why if the Soviet Union were still in existence both Abkhazia and S. Ossetia would never dream of taking such action, and you wouldn't see Russian interests versus Georgian interests, they would essentially be one in the same.

[Slavic Enforcer]

Ridiculous.

[Berianidze]

Ridiculous.
(I assume you're referring to the actions taken by the Georgian government)...but can you blame them? Russia has been pushing this thing for a while, and they're pushing the limit, especially with South Ossetia.

[Slavic Enforcer]

(I assume you're referring to the actions taken by the Georgian government)...but can you blame them? Russia has been pushing this thing for a while, and they're pushing the limit, especially with South Ossetia.

No, I am referring to the actions taken by Russia.

Instead of acting like cowards they should show their former subordinates who's the Boss in the area.

[Berianidze]

No, I am referring to the actions taken by Russia.

Instead of acting like cowards they should show their former subordinates who's the Boss in the area.
Ha. It was Stalin (a Georgian) who made the Russian people submit to Soviet rule.

[Slavic Enforcer]

Ha. It was Stalin (a Georgian) who made the Russian people submit to Soviet rule.

One more reason to invade Georgia.

[Arrow Cross]

So the Russian bear turns angry? Where is the legendary pan-Slavic friendship now?

[Slavic Enforcer]

So the Russian bear turns angry? Where is the legendary pan-Slavic friendship now?

I really hope you are not so stupid to believe that Georgians are Slavs?

[Sulla the Dictator]

Ha. It was Stalin (a Georgian) who made the Russian people submit to Soviet rule.

Eh? The USSR was a leftist name for a Russian Empire. Between Stalin and Sergo the Politburo broke the back of the independant minded Georgian CP. In other words, Stalin made the Georgian people submit to Russian rule. Again.

[Slavic Enforcer]

This pig is responsible for the deaths of more than 20 m. Russians and other Ex-Soviets.

I hope he burns in hell.

[Berianidze]

Eh? The USSR was a leftist name for a Russian Empire. Between Stalin and Sergo the Politburo broke the back of the independant minded Georgian CP. In other words, Stalin made the Georgian people submit to Russian rule. Again.
That was different though and done in the name of solidarity and security of the USSR. The Georgian CP was full of Mensheviks and challenged Soviet authority--and the actions by Ordzhonikidze and Stalin may have been "brutal" in the eyes of Lenin but he nonethless appreciated what they had done--whether he admitted it or not. There is no Soviet Union now and their is no reason for Moscow to interfere with Georgia--if this was taking place under the USSR then it would be an entirely different matter altogether.

[Jofreidr_1488]

Look for ZOG to use these 'spy incidents' as an excuse to launch another
infernal Colored Revolution, similar to what ZOG tried in the Ukraine and
Belarus.

ZOG is trying to surround Russia and one should not be surprised by some
sort of coup attempt in Georgia that attempts to put a jew in charge (this
will most likely occur simultaneously with a ZOG attack on Iran)

[Felix the Cat]

http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=709580

The decision to begin a postal and transport war against Georgia was made on Sunday at an expanded meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kommersant has learned that a plan for a special operation to free the four Russian officers arrested for espionage was discussed there as well. But when Tbilisi announced its intentions of giving up the arrested officers to Moscow, the special operation was canceled and actions were limited to a blockade.

When approving the retaliatory measures against Tbilisi, according to information obtained by Kommersant, Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to renew the withdrawal of Russian forces and weapons from bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki, which had been halted last week. Obviously, Moscow thought that that was necessary so that Russian forces did not become hostages if, for example, Tbilisi decided to turn the water and power off in Russian military settlements and other Russian military facilities. The Defense Ministry has begun planning a wide-scale exercise in the North Caucasus Military District.

A well-informed Kommersant source in the Kremlin said that the sanctions imposed yesterday is not so much a response to the arrest f the Russian officers as a reaction to Georgia's foreign policy as a whole. “Tbilisi's rhetoric recently has gone far beyond the permissible. Even the Western fans of the current regime lowered their eyes in shame when Georgian officials made their statements,” the source noted. “Now let those who ordered it answer for it.” This position was indirectly affirmed by the telephone call yesterday from U.S. President George W. Bush to Putin. According to the Russian president's press secretary Alexey Gromov, the main topic of the conversation was the situation with Georgia.

[Felix the Cat]

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=10847084&PageNum=0

MOSCOW, October 2 (Itar-Tass) -- State Duma deputy speaker Vlaidmir Zhirinovsky called for “the most serious measures” against Georgia, including the deployment of Russian troops in this Transcaucasian republic.

However he believes that “the Kremlin will not resort to such harsh measures.”

“These also include the cancellation of entry visas for its [Georgian] citizens, a halt of transportation and mailing services, a stop to energy supplies, a deportation of illegals to Georgia – practically one in four residents of this country is in Russia,” Zhirinovsky said on Monday.

In his view, “Russian bayonets and the opposition should overthrow the Saakashavili regime and ensure the holding of democratic elections in this territory.”

“The Saakashavili regime is doomed, and Mikhail Saakashavili himself has long had a plane standing by in the airport, waiting for him to defect to America where he will be giving lectures,” the deputy speaker said.

Zhirinovsky believes that in parallel to deploying Russian troops to Georgia, “it is necessary to supply arms to Abkhazia and South Ossetia and go for Tbilisi. … We should follow the U.S. suit: they toppled the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq this way.”

He also stressed that the U.S. and its partners in this situation “may turn a blind eye to some problems that hinder Georgia’s admission to NATO.”

“It will be given a fast-track admission to the Alliance, and Turkish troops will be brought into Georgia, for Turkey is close enough,” he added.

According to Zhirinovsky, this will repeat a previous situation where two states – the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic republic – coexisted in Europe. “But we must act faster,” he said.

[Incitatus]

After reading such things I can only conclude that the Georgian government did nothing wrong and were right not to trust the Russians. I'm not taking sides because I don't know a lot about Saakashvili, other than that he toppled a corrupt regime and is a Georgian nationalist. But from the point of view of the Georgian government, what they did isn't more than logical. After reading the last article Cowcube posted here, I can't help but thinking that Russia is acting exactly like America is, only on a different location. They support rebels who oppose a regime which might not be entirely "democratic". When did Russia join America's imperialist war and start submitting countries who oppose the globalist-democratic order?

[Berianidze]

After reading such things I can only conclude that the Georgian government did nothing wrong and were right not to trust the Russians. I'm not taking sides because I don't know a lot about Saakashvili, other than that he toppled a corrupt regime and is a Georgian nationalist. But from the point of view of the Georgian government, what they did isn't more than logical. After reading the last article Cowcube posted here, I can't help but thinking that Russia is acting exactly like America is, only on a different location. They support rebels who oppose a regime which might not be entirely "democratic". When did Russia join America's imperialist war and start submitting countries who oppose the globalist-democratic order?
Saakashvili was a nationalist in platform only; he got to power more on terms of turning Georgia into a pro-Western democracy. The mainstream politics of Georgia are simple: garbage in, garbage out. The government before was corrupt, Saakashvili is corrupt, and undoubtedly unless things change the next president will be corrupt. Russia opposed Saakashvili from the beginning, and he has never hid his pro-Yankee stance. However, this is not an issue that involves Saakashvili, but the actual Georgian people. The Russian government is interfering in a subject matter that stems beyond Saakashvili, so my wanting Russia to leave Georgia alone stems not from support for Saakashvili, but for Georgia to retain claim on what rightfully belongs to it.