Steinmeier’s short visit to Tbilisi

By Giorgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

 

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived at Tbilisi Airport at 5.00pm and left the next morning, making a one-day visit. He had all the necessary meetings in just a few hours and left Tbilisi on his way to Russia.

The visit was long-awaited in Georgia, because the set of problems with Russia only gets worse with time. Russia and Abkhazia signed a framework agreement on alliance and strategic partnership, a similar and more detailed treaty will be signed with South Ossetia. Georgian Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili discussed the problem with the European diplomat at the airport. Steinmeier said that Berlin and Brussels were more concerned about the situation in Ukraine. He did not condemn Moscow’s policy in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and talked about lifting the visa regime for Georgians instead.

According to the recent report of Georgian diplomats, Georgia has concluded the first stage of visa liberalization with the EU. Visa rules for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Asian and African countries became more strict, as Brussels insisted within the framework of the first liberalization stage.

The new measures taken by Tbilisi caused a sudden drop in tourism and investments, though the country entered the second stage of liberalization. Georgia will need years to go through all the stages and there are no guarantees that a visa-free regime will ever be established. Visa liberalization may only mean a simplified system of issuing Schengen visas. But Steinmeier was talking about a step towards a visa-free regime. Steinmeier’s encouragement for progress and his statement at the meeting with President Giorgi Margvelashvili showsome the commitment of Germany to the decisions of the NATO summit in Bucharest to grant Georgia membership in the Alliance in the future. Yet no one can say when that future will come and no one knows when Georgian citizens get a chance to visit EU countries without the need to buy visas. Both statements are good to compensate the failure of the West to interfere in the rapprochement of Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Steinmeier said at a meeting with Garibashvili that relations between Germany and Georgia had never been better. The best period of relations between Tbilisi and Berlin were the 1990s, when Georgia was headed by USSR ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard Shevardnadze. Many German politicians and journalists were hailing him as though he was the unifier of Germany.

I remember how Shevardnadze’s plane was escorted by German fighter jets during the visit to Germany in 1999. Artillery fire was opened at the airport in his honour. There was a river of financial aid from Germany, though it was wasted by corrupt clans around the president.

Steinmeier was right about the period after the Rose Revolution and Mikheil Saakashvili’s coming to power. Germany remains the most consistent naysayer for Georgia’s membership in the NATO or the road map to join the Alliance. Not a single statement of Steinmeier during his visit proves any change in the position of Berlin, although phrases about commitment to statements of the Bucharest summit will probably always sound like a mantra to save face.

Iosif Tsindadze, an ex-rector of the Tbilisi Diplomatic Academy, commented on the situation in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza: “Everything Steinmeier said in Tbilisi about Germany’s support for Georgia joining NATO is 100% diplomatic phraseology. Two days before Steinmeier’s visit, Chancellor Merkel said that she had no doubts about the correctness of her position not to grant Georgia a NATO road map.”

Before leaving Tbilisi, the German foreign minister had a closed-door conversation with Prime Minister Garibashvili. According to information from the state chancellery, the main topic they discussed was Ukraine, which is a much bigger issue than developments around Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The German foreign minister discussed all topics in Georgia in half a dayBy Giorgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik KavkazaGerman Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived at Tbilisi Airport at 5.00pm and left the next morning, making a one-day visit. He had all the necessary meetings in just a few hours and left Tbilisi on his way to Russia.The visit was long-awaited in Georgia, because the set of problems with Russia only gets worse with time. Russia and Abkhazia signed a framework agreement on alliance and strategic partnership, a similar and more detailed treaty will be signed with South Ossetia. Georgian Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili discussed the problem with the European diplomat at the airport. Steinmeier said that Berlin and Brussels were more concerned about the situation in Ukraine. He did not condemn Moscow’s policy in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and talked about lifting the visa regime for Georgians instead.According to the recent report of Georgian diplomats, Georgia has concluded the first stage of visa liberalization with the EU. Visa rules for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Asian and African countries became more strict, as Brussels insisted within the framework of the first liberalization stage.The new measures taken by Tbilisi caused a sudden drop in tourism and investments, though the country entered the second stage of liberalization. Georgia will need years to go through all the stages and there are no guarantees that a visa-free regime will ever be established. Visa liberalization may only mean a simplified system of issuing Schengen visas. But Steinmeier was talking about a step towards a visa-free regime. Steinmeier’s encouragement for progress and his statement at the meeting with President Giorgi Margvelashvili showsome the commitment of Germany to the decisions of the NATO summit in Bucharest to grant Georgia membership in the Alliance in the future. Yet no one can say when that future will come and no one knows when Georgian citizens get a chance to visit EU countries without the need to buy visas. Both statements are good to compensate the failure of the West to interfere in the rapprochement of Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.Steinmeier said at a meeting with Garibashvili that relations between Germany and Georgia had never been better. The best period of relations between Tbilisi and Berlin were the 1990s, when Georgia was headed by USSR ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard Shevardnadze. Many German politicians and journalists were hailing him as though he was the unifier of Germany.I remember how Shevardnadze’s plane was escorted by German fighter jets during the visit to Germany in 1999. Artillery fire was opened at the airport in his honour. There was a river of financial aid from Germany, though it was wasted by corrupt clans around the president.Steinmeier was right about the period after the Rose Revolution and Mikheil Saakashvili’s coming to power. Germany remains the most consistent naysayer for Georgia’s membership in the NATO or the road map to join the Alliance. Not a single statement of Steinmeier during his visit proves any change in the position of Berlin, although phrases about commitment to statements of the Bucharest summit will probably always sound like a mantra to save face.Iosif Tsindadze, an ex-rector of the Tbilisi Diplomatic Academy, commented on the situation in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza: “Everything Steinmeier said in Tbilisi about Germany’s support for Georgia joining NATO is 100% diplomatic phraseology. Two days before Steinmeier’s visit, Chancellor Merkel said that she had no doubts about the correctness of her position not to grant Georgia a NATO road map.”Before leaving Tbilisi, the German foreign minister had a closed-door conversation with Prime Minister Garibashvili. According to information from the state chancellery, the main topic they discussed was Ukraine, which is a much bigger issue than developments around Abkhazia and South Osse