Russia and Georgia to face Strasbourg challenge

Victoria Panfilova, observer of Nezavisimaya Gazeta. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

The atmosphere of the Russian-Georgian economic talks which are taking place in Prague has suddenly worsened. Tbilisi reacted nervously to Premier Dmitry Medvedev’s statement that Russia would take certain measures against Georgia (and Ukraine) if the parliament ratified the association agreement with the EU.

It seems the premier means changes in trade conditions. Russia could reject the free trade regime with Georgia. Whether it will be a new strict embargo or limits on Georgian imports, it is difficult to say. The parliament of Georgia will definitely ratify the association agreement with the EU in late July.

Such a scenario of development of relations with Russia is unfavorable for Georgia. Ahead of the talks in Prague, the Minister of Economy of the country, Irakly Kvirikashvili, expressed his hope that the free trade regime with Moscow won’t change. Tbilisi’s interest is clear. After elimination of the embargo, the Russian market became the main consumer of Georgian agricultural products and wine. Nobody wants to lose it. Moreover, the association agreement with the EU is not a guarantee that Georgian goods will flow into European markets. A lot of requirements and arrangements should be conducted to approach European standards.

Alexi Petriashvili, the State Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration Affairs, called Medvedev’s warning an obstacle to normalization of intergovernmental relations. “There is no need to talk in blackmailing language,” he said. “Medvedev should understand that such statements do not encourage normalization during the talks in Prague.”

The other factor which adds negativity was the decision of the Strasbourg Human Rights Court in favor of Georgia on the intergovernmental lawsuit “Georgia vs. Russia.” The Strasbourg Court delivered a judgement that Russia, which organized the mass deportation of Georgian citizens from its territory in the autumn of 2006, violated several provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. According to the court, Russia should pay compensation to the aggrieved within a year. The volume of the compensation should be defined by the Ministers of Justice of Russia and Georgia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted calmly to the judgement. An official statement of the Ministry says that the lawsuit was sent to the Court by the former authorities of Georgia, which provided a direct anti-Russian policy. It also expresses satisfaction that the people of Georgia elected new political forces which insist on normalization of relations with Russia. It is clear that the message hints that the new Georgian authorities shouldn’t continue the course.

However, Tbilisi considered the Strasbourg judgement differently, at least at the official level. The Minister of Justice, Tea Tsulukiani, stated that the Ministries of Justice of Russia and Georgia should discuss the volume and mechanisms of paying compensation. So, the new authorities do not want to reject success in a lawsuit which was sent by their predecessors.

“I am not a lawyer and cannot comment on the legal aspects of the Strasbourg Court’s judgement. However, I don’t think it is purely about the law,” Sergei Markedonov, reader in Regional Studies and Foreign Policy of the Russian State University for Humanities, told Vestnik Kavkaza. According to him, the current situation with Russia and Ukraine has influenced the judgement. “Views on the events of 2008 are very different in Russia and the West. And the Western view is not favorable for Russian policy in the Caucasus. I cannot say that the Strasbourg judgement is a psychological blow to Russia. For Moscow, the views of such an institution as the Strasbourg Court is not crucial. The Kremlin has its own plan of actions on building its image. For the domestic audience the judgement will be another confirmation of the firmness of the Russian authorities and the double standards of the West,” Markedonov says. According to him, there are no instruments to make Moscow pay compensation, “and both sides (Russia and Georgia) will present their own “victorious” interpretations.”