By Georgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
A few days before the important and prestigious visit of the head of the Georgian state to the West, his administration had to explain why Giorgi Margvelashvili cancelled the visit. Sometimes, the president gives an explanation personally. For example, after cancelling his visit to the U.S. to make a speech at the ecological summit of the UN, the president said that the government, including the Foreign Ministry, had sabotaged his visit.
In this regard, some Georgian media suggested that the White House was planning to invite both the president and the prime minister (Irakli Garibashvili was planning to make a speech at the UN General Assembly) to meet Barack Obama, who would try to persuade the two leaders away from further discord. But a joint visit to the White House is unacceptable for the prime minister, who, unlike the president, has real power in the country.
On October 28-29, President Margvelashvili was planning to take part in WWI-related meetings. But the Georgian embassy told the Georgian community in Belgium that all plans were cancelled and the visit will not happen “due to a crisis in Georgia.” The embassy later denied the information: “We did not mean an internal political crisis in Georgia, it was the plans of Russia to sign a new agreement on alliance and integration with Abkhazia,” the diplomatic mission said.
The presidential administration later referred to the session of the National Security Council set for October 28 to discuss Russian-Georgian relations and the problems of Abkhazia. It has been unclear why the head of state had to set the session specifically for October 28 when his visit to Belgium had been planned months ahead. What would have changed around Abkhazia if Margvelashvili spent just a few days in Brussels? Besides, if the session of the Security Council was that important, why didn't Margvelashvili cancel his visit to Japan, where he only had an official visit with his wife? There is no answer to these questions.
There are assumptions, however, that the Security Council was using the Russian topic for a conflict and tensions. The position of Defense Minister Irakli Alasania is becoming more radical. It greatly differs from the tactics of Prime Minister Garibashvili, his Special Envoy for Russia Zurab Abashidze and other officials of the country’s real leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, who resigned in late 2013 and remains an influential figure in all decision-making.
Irakli Alasania and some other leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition are predicted to join the new team of President Margvelashvili. The prime minister, according to this theory, is trying to weaken the president, ruining his visits and the sessions of the National Security Council (none of the key figures of the Cabinet plans to attend sessions of the Security Council chaired by the president).
In the context of the new balanced Constitution that was to divide the authorities of the president and the prime minister, the country is turning into a “Caucasian Byzantium”, with its endless intrigues and secret moves behind the scenes. Of course, this will bring no good to a small country with huge problems.
How Georgia turns into “Caucasian Byzantium”By Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik KavkazaA few days before the important and prestigious visit of the head of the Georgian state to the West, his administration had to explain why Giorgi Margvelashvili cancelled the visit. Sometimes, the president gives an explanation personally. For example, after cancelling his visit to the U.S. to make a speech at the ecological summit of the UN, the president said that the government, including the Foreign Ministry, had sabotaged his visit.In this regard, some Georgian media suggested that the White House was planning to invite both the president and the prime minister (Irakly Garibashvili was planning to make a speech at the UN General Assembly) to meet Barack Obama, who would try to persuade the two leaders away from further discord. But a joint visit to the White House is unacceptable for the prime minister, who, unlike the president, has real power in the country.On October 28-29, President Margvelashvili was planning to take part in WWI-related meetings. But the Georgian embassy told the Georgian community in Belgium that all plans were cancelled and the visit will not happen “due to a crisis in Georgia.” The embassy later denied the information: “We did not mean an internal political crisis in Georgia, it was the plans of Russia to sign a new agreement on alliance and integration with Abkhazia,” the diplomatic mission said.The presidential administration later referred to the session of the National Security Council set for October 28 to discuss Russian-Georgian relations and the problems of Abkhazia. It has been unclear why the head of state had to set the session specifically for October 28 when his visit to Belgium had been planned months ahead. What would have changed around Abkhazia if Margvelashvili spent just a few days in Brussels? Besides, if the session of the Security Council was that important, why didn't Margvelashvili cancel his visit to Japan, where he only had an official visit with his wife? There is no answer to these questions.There are assumptions, however, that the Security Council was using the Russian topic for a conflict and tensions. The position of Defense Minister Irakly Alasania is becoming more radical. It greatly differs from the tactics of Prime Minister Gaaribashvili, his Special Envoy for Russia Zurab Abashidze and other officials of the country’s real leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, who resigned in late 2013 and remains an influential figure in all decision-making.Irakly Alasania and some other leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition are predicted to join the new team of President Margvelashvili. The prime minister, according to this theory, is trying to weaken the president, ruining his visits and the sessions of the National Security Council (none of the key figures of the Cabinet plans to attend sessions of the Security Council chaired by the president).In the context of the new balanced Constitution that was to divide the authorities of the president and the prime minister, the country is turning into a “Caucasian Byzantium”, with its endless intrigues and secret moves behind the scenes. Of course, this will bring no good to a small country with huge proble
