The former Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, the leader of the opposition party 'Democratic Movement - United Georgia' (DDEG), Nino Burjanadze, has visited the Russian capital once again. The formal reason was participation in an international conference on security issues.
This is the first visit of Ms. Burjanadze to Moscow since 2010, when she was present at the opening of the Kutaisi memorial to Georgians who died during the Great Patriotic War, which was blown up on the order of President Saakashvili after the five-day war. Then she held talks with Vladimir Putin, and returned to her homeland, saying that the Russian leader "does not preclude discussion of any issues with the Georgian side, including the problem of the territorial integrity of our state."
Naturally, everyone was interested in whether the politician will meet with the President or the Prime Minister during the visit. But in the Kremlin and the White House it was decided not to rush things.
Firstly, the Russian government seems once and for all to have chosen the tactics of preferring relationships with the authorities, not the oppositions of any country in the post-Soviet space. When Georgia was headed by the not "shake hands", Mikheil Saakashvili, the situation was different, but now in Tbilisi, according to the Russian authorities, there is a more or less "sane government," and pointedly to meet with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvli's opponent would be a departure from the pointed political tactics.
Secondly, Nino Burjanadze, although an authoritative politician, does not yet have sufficient resources of influence to tie a really serious political game with her, her party is not represented in the parliament, and in all the polls the DDEG falls short of the 5-percent barrier needed to enter the parliament.
However, about 45% of the respondents questioned by the US NDI recently said that they had not yet made a final choice about whom to vote for in the elections scheduled for next year. Many consider these 45% as a resource of the "pro-Russian" political forces, and Nino Burjanadze, activating in the Russian direction, is obviously trying to play on the sentiments of this part of the electorate.
By the way, she was welcomed in Moscow at a fairly high level: on the sidelines of an international conference she met with the speakers of both chambers of the Federal Assembly, as well as with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin.
In addition, Mrs. Burjanadze is actively in contact with the Russian media, and has made a number of noteworthy statements. For example, she stressed that NATO military bases should not be located in Georgia, however, "NATO and the EU should be separated.’’ However, as the events in Ukraine have shown, Moscow is not inclined to see an insurmountable wall between the European Union and NATO. Moreover, there are times when the desire to move closer to the EU in opposition to the integration processes in the post-Soviet space is perceived as unfriendly policies of dissociation from Russia.
In an interview with both the Russian and Georgian media, Nino Burjanadze said that she still considers Abkhazia and South Ossetia as integral parts of Georgia, and she considers the aim of interaction with Russia to be "the withdrawal of Russian troops." This, in her view, is achievable, "while respecting the legitimate interests of Russia in the South Caucasus" and "the beginning of a large-scale dialogue with the Russian leadership."
Nevertheless, she has tried to avoid answering the question as to what steps should be taken to settle the relations between Georgia and its northern neighbor. The leader of the party "United Georgia" has never even mentioned the restoration of diplomatic relations with Moscow, not to mention membership of the Eurasian Union. Talking about this association, she called "not to demonize" it, hinting that she is ready to consider the issue of entering it if, during the "extensive dialogue" with Russia, there will be a chance of restoring the unity of Georgia. Eduard Shevardnadze and Mikheil Saakachvili considered relations with Russia approximately in the same paradigm. Especially in the early years of their rules.
It is not possible for the DDEG to have another program, otherwise it would have come up with another name for the party. Another question, as far as it is practicable, taking into account Russia's well-established recognition of the independence of the former Georgian autonomies and their disagreement with considering any integration projects with Georgia. "If we agree to restore trust with Abkhazia and South Ossetia and, at the same time, Russia will play a positive role, we will be able to resolve the conflict,’’ Burjanadze believes.
Talking about Crimea, she acknowledged the finality of the return of the peninsula to the Russian Federation, saying that the Ukrainian authorities had made crude mistakes, but then has categorically opposed any parallels with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
However, her main important message is the call for the Georgian authorities, "not to be afraid of dialogue with Russia," without regard to the interests of other states (i.e. the US). "If our government does not dare to start a dialogue with Vladimir Putin, let Nino Burjanadze receive a mandate to conduct such negotiations," one of the DDEG leaders, Gigla Baramidze, told reporters.
The Georgian authorities are not happy with the visit of the ex-speaker, but prefer not to voice accusatory statements, focusing on the fact that they themselves have a successful dialogue with Moscow in the format of the Karasin-Abashidze talks. But the supporters of Saakashvili called Burjanadze’s act "treason." The former Minister of Culture, Nika Rurua, has described her visit this way. ‘’My visit to Moscow can only be condemned by the political fools and servants of the other State, not Georgia," Mrs. Burjanadze replied to this, again referring to the "overseas curator."
