Russia runs out of patience with
Georgia By Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW - Tensions between Russia and Georgia
reached boiling point on Wednesday as Russian President
Vladimir Putin ordered the military to prepare for
strikes into Georgian territory.
Putin ordered
military preparations after holding Georgia responsible
for giving shelter to Chechen rebels. In a statement on
September 11, Putin cited the United Nations Security
Council resolution adopted after the terrorist attacks
of September 11 last year, requiring states to help
prevent terrorist acts, and to deny save haven to
terrorists and their sponsors.
Putin also cited
Article 51 of the United Nations charter that allowed
use of force against other states for self-defense.
Putin ordered his top military officers to prepare to
strike bases run by Chechen rebels in the Pankisi Gorge
in Georgian territory. In televised remarks Putin said
Russia may now resort to the "inalienable right of
self-defense". He said, however, that Russia does not
aim to undermine the territorial integrity of Georgia.
Putin's speech was followed by an official note
sent from Moscow to the UN Security Council Thursday
alleging that Georgia is violating the antiterrorism
resolution adopted by the UN.
Georgian President
Eduard Shevardnadze called Putin's statement "hasty" and
"one-sided" and said it "does not reflect the
situation". But he admitted the situation had become
serious now that the Russian president had issued such
threats. Shevardnadze said there were no more than "a
few dozen" militants in Pankisi Gorge. Thousands of
Chechen refugees live in the area.
Georgia has
repeatedly refused Russian offers to get rid of the
rebels in the gorge. An operation launched by Georgian
police and security forces against the rebels last month
produced no significant results.
Russian
officials have been dismissive of Georgian efforts. The
foreign ministry reiterated its demand on September 11
that Georgia extradite 13 Chechen rebels detained on the
border between the two countries last month. Kremlin
officials have repeatedly sought permission to carry out
raids on rebel hide-outs but Georgia has refused
permission.
Russian demands are now becoming
blunt. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said recently that
Georgia has become a "nest" of terrorism. Putin's
statement of September 11 is being seen as more than a
war of words. The same day the Speaker of the Federation
Council Sergei Mironov backed Putin's pledge to attack
Chechen rebels in Pankisi. The Federation Council
authorizes use of Russian troops outside its borders.
Earlier this year the US offered to send its
troops to give the Georgian military antiterrorist
training against alleged al Qaeda linked fighters in
Pankisi. Now Russia insists that the Pankisi Gorge has
become a safe haven for al Qaeda elements linked to the
September 11 attacks.
Vladimir Voronin, head of
the pro-Kremlin faction in parliament told RTR
television on September 11 that "if they were in our
place, the Americans would have bombed all moving
targets in Georgia".
Russia is now presenting
the same kind of logic that the US is using in support
of an attack on Iraq. Ivanov told Russian lawmakers on
September 11 that Georgia's support to terrorists had
been proved far more conclusively than any support to
terrorism by Iraq.
Russia has particularly
sought extradition of Chechen leader Ruslan Guelayev.
Georgian officials have responded with a demand for
extradition of Igor Georgadze, former security chief of
Georgia.
Officials in Moscow deny that Georgadze
is hiding in Russia. But Georgadze was interviewed by
several Russian media groups recently, and claimed that
Shevardnadze's regime could have links with al Qaeda.
Relations between Russia and Georgia have become
strained over several issues. Russia sees Georgia as
taking a strong pro-West and anti-Russia stance. On the
other hand Georgia opposes what it sees as Russian
support for separatist groups in Abkhazia region within
Georgia. Abkhazia has had de facto independence since
Georgian forces lost to separatist forces in 1993.
Russia does not recognize Abkhazia as a separate
state, and sees it as a part of Georgia. But the Kremlin
says it keeps close ties with the Abkhazian leadership
to maintain mediation between them and Georgia. Russian
peacekeepers have been present in Abkhazia since 1994,
and Georgia accuses them of supporting the separatists.
In the absence of any Georgian action against
the Chechen rebels, Russia is unlikely to pull its
troops out of Abkhazia. Russian officials are instead
holding up Iraq as a model for new raids into Georgia.
