by Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for VK
OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier arrived in Tbilisi and commtned on a sensation that arrived from Monaco to Tbilisi. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly voted for the resolution on Georgia, calling Abkhazia and South Ossetia its occupied territories. The Parliamentary assembly expressed concerns over the humanitarian situation of refugees in Georgia and people in the occupied territories. The PA expressed support for Georgia’s territorial unity and sovereignty, recommending Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia to allow an EU mission to the occupied territories as stated in the cease-fire agreement. The agreement also urges cooperation with the EUMM.
The sensation is that Russia did not vote against the resolution. Nikolai Kovelev, head of the Russian parliamentary delegation, member of the United Russia Party, said that the document does have wise points: “In this case, our position is balanced, it does not intend to escalate tensions in relations. Our position is to avoid making confrontation absurd”. The explanation of Moscow’s position and interpretation of events that happened 4 years ago may seem strange and surprising, at first sight. Perhaps, “cautiousness” of the Russian delegation was there due to lack of veto (unlike the veto at the OSCE Council) at PA, where decisions are made by the majority of vote. Russia did not want to solo. Even Russia’s closest allies of the post-Soviet space voted for the resolution.
Moscow, Tbilisi, Tskhinvali and Vienne are having backstage negotiations about the OSCE mission that monitored South Ossetia in 1992-2008, as another theory suggests. In this case, Lamberto Zannier wanted to avoid interference in the diplomatic process and ruin compromise Russia started to show.
Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergy Kapanadze told VK that “return of the OSCE field mission and restoration of its work in the conflict zone was one of the main results of negotiations of Mr. Zannier with the president and foreign minister of our country”. The diplomat said that neutral-status missions may be sent to Georgia under such names as “the OSCE mission to River Liakhvi” or “Tskhinvali” and so on.
Tbilisi does not want it to be called “the OSCE mission in South Ossetia”, while Russia and Tskhinvali do not want it to be called “the OSCE mission to Georgia”. According to VK, Lamberto Zannier confirmed compromise at the closed-door meeting, but he did not give Moscow’s reasons. Russia does not want an international organization it has no membership in to have a peacekeeping operation in the conflict zone. In this case, it is an EU monitoring mission approved by Sarkozy and Medvedev in autumn 2008. Even though the EU mission has little authority and European monitors would only stay at the Georgian side of the border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, it is still an essential and strategically-approved precedent for Moscow.
This is why Russian diplomacy is starting to send signals about possible compromise. Russia, unlike the EU, has the right for veto on any decision at the OSCE. The compromise does not affect recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in any way. Neither does Russia need to worry about presence of its forces in the republics.
Lamberto Zannier and his Georgian partners did not make much noise about Russian military drills in the North Caucasus and Armenia on the Georgian border. Tbilisi used to use every possible moment to blame Moscow for escalating tensions for the upcoming parliamentary polls to “pressurize Georgian voters”. Lamberto Zannier only recommended Georgia to address a relation OSCE security forum if the drills cause so many concerns.
