Rallies have been held in Abkhazia in protest against the legal incorporation of the self-proclaimed republic’s army into the regular armed forces of Russia. The Russian media allege that the political party Amtsakhara organized these rallies. But according to the portal Svobodnaya pressa-Yug, most of Abkhazia’s residents attended a different rally – allegedly in support of signing a relevant document with Russia. Yet nothing is reported about the number of participants in these events.
However, The Day’s sources report that this rapprochement with Russia triggered a negative reaction on the part of ethnic Abkhazians who account for not less than 40 percent of the republic’s population. Moreover, compared to the other three ethnic groups (the Russians and Armenians, who favor integration with Russia, and the Georgians who call for returning to Georgia), they are the most active and inclined to take radical actions. “These people, who have really fought for their independence, are prepared to defend it with arms in hand,” a source emphasized.
As is known, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Raul Khajimba, the leader of Abkhazia which broke away from Georgia, signed on Monday in Sochi an agreement “on alliance and strategic partnership” which envisages formation of the joint armed forces. The text says the Abkhazian army will be modernized not later than three years after the signing of the treaty at Russia’s expense. Russia will organize the training of Abkhazian servicemen and equip the army with the “up-to-date weaponry.” It is also planned to relocate the personnel and facilities from the Russian-Abkhazian border to the border between Abkhazia and the Tbilisi-controlled territory. According to the BBC Russian service, Moscow promises – in return for military cooperation – to raise in Abkhazia the salaries of “the main categories of public-sector employees in the sphere of health care, education, science, culture, sport, and social security to the level comparable to that of the similar categories of employees in the Russian Federation’s Southern Federal District.”
The agreement will be valid for 10 years.
The EU has already announced that the Abkhazia-Russia treaty runs counter to, but will never change, Brussels’ position on the territorial integrity of Georgia. “This treaty will not radically change anything in the EU’s approach to the sanctity of Georgia’s territorial integrity,” said Toivo Klaar, head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia.
Official Tbilisi stated in October that, if signed, the new treaty would hinder the normalization of Russian-Georgian relations and be another step towards the annexation of Abkhazia. But it is also known that the text of the “agreement” has changed a little since then.
Here is what Paata ZAKAREISHVILI, Georgia’s Minister of State for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, said about Tbilisi’s response to the Sochi agreement:
“Of course, this arouses indignation, but it is not a catastrophe, it is just a crisis. This so-called treaty opens a new phase in Russia’s annexation of the Georgian territory. This means that Abkhazian society begins to reconsider its relationship with Russia. Russia has taken another rash step in its Abkhazia policy. This document will bring no new radical innovations. They have legitimized what was put into practice long ago. For example, all the armed forces of Abkhazia is the Russian army, they apply Russian laws, Russian is in fact the official language, all the security services are Russian, and Russia exercises control over the administrative border between Abkhazia and Mingrelia (while both Abkhazian and Russian border guards checked passports before September 2012, only the Russians are doing this now).
“Still, it is important that the Abkhazians managed to prevent two fundamental provisions from being included into this treaty. Firstly, the Russians wanted to simplify the Georgian-Russian state border near Sochi so that there would be no administrative division there and people could move about freely. Secondly, the Russians urged the Abkhazians to ease the procedure of granting ‘Abkhazian citizenship’ to citizens of Russia. Today, it is very difficult for any person to obtain Abkhazian citizenship. So, the Abkhazians managed to get these two crucial items, which were in the first, Russia-proposed, version, withdrawn from the second, moderated, version.
“But, from the political angle, this signing makes it possible to annex Abkhazia, like Crimea, in the course of time. For this reason, I would interpret this signing as a blow to Abkhazia. The leaders of a breakaway republic have in fact signed the ‘farewell to independence’ verdict.
“Until now, the Russians have been playing in Abkhazia’s independence. But now they have clearly changed their mind.
“I think this step is a warning to both Abkhazia and Europe. As for Georgia, there is nothing to ‘warn’ here. Russia has already occupied these territories. But there is a novelty in the Russian-Abkhazian relations. Russia is turning the suspended status of Abkhazia into a more definite and preferable format. It is departing from ‘vague’ rhetoric and clearly shows its position: ‘I don’t think an independent Abkhazia is needed.’
“Russia’s interest is clear – it is tightening its grip on this territory so that it will be difficult to tear it away later.
“The Abkhazians have fallen into a trap they set for themselves. Georgia and the world have never recognized Russia’s actions on the territory of Abkhazia as legitimate. The Abkhazians have recognized it, though. They based their independence on what they thought was a joint position with Russia, but then the latter said: you won’t be independent in the format you want.
“Signing this, Russia is showing Europe what it showed earlier in Crimea: we are taking what we can take, we don’t care about international law and about what you think of us, we are open and hide nothing from anybody.
“But this step of Russia is the reaction of a weak state. Strong states do not behave so. And I admire the way you, Ukrainians, are fighting for your freedom. You must go on. We must go on. We are told on board the airplane: if the cabin depressurizes, put the oxygen mask first on yourself and then on your child. Therefore, we should also first save the state and our pro-European vector and only then rescue the Ossetians and the Abkhazians.”
