By Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
Georgia treats US ambassadors with great respect and even piety, carefully monitoring their every step and reading every word. No wonder Ambassador Richard Miles was called the chief architect of the Rose Revolution of 2003. Ambassador Richard Norland is considered one of the most skilled US diplomats. Unsurprisingly, his latest statement on the problem of Abkhazia and South Ossetia became a sensation.
Speaking before students, the diplomat said that Georgia was to blame for problems with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In other words, the Georgian society was intolerant and had an uncompromising stand on the right of ethnic minorities for self-determination: “Georgians treated the Abkhaz people and Ossetians the way Russians treated Georgians. And Georgia should apologize for mistakes of the past,” said the ambassador, emphasizing that the problem of restoring territorial integrity of Georgia “had no simple and fast solution.”
Facing the stormy reaction for such a unidimensional evaluation of a complicated historic problem, Mr. Norland tried to find an excuse, although in a very clumsy manner. He explained that he just wanted “to encourage a discussion and provoke students to exchange contrary opinions.” Moreover, in his attempt to disavow own words, Ambassador Norland made a hilarious argument: “I did not know that students could be recording my speech and then hand it over to the mass media.” After meetings with an unnamed official of the Foreign Ministry, he repeated the thesis of respect for Georgian territorial integrity. But what has been said cannot be unsaid.
Iosif Tsintsadze, Rector of the Georgian Diplomatic Academy, has shared his opinion about the statement of the US ambassador in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.
- What Norland said was diplomatic tactlessness. His further excuses are just ‘a figure of speech.’ When someone wants to blanket something, he always say that he was ‘just misunderstood.’ How else could it be understood? The ambassador said directly that Georgians should apologize to the Abkhaz people and Ossetians. Overall, an ambassador’s job is not to argue about such things in the receiving state. It is a violation of the Vienna Convention. So Richard Norland obviously went too far.
- What was the point? Diplomats of such level do not speak for the sake of witticism.
- The point and the reason in this case are the same: by all accounts, America is tired of us, Europe and the rest of the world are tired of our laments about ‘territorial integrity.’ Now, we are reaping what we sowed: we did not want to do anything ourselves, having an uncut finger, yet restore integrity with the help of Americans and Europeans, so that they would bring us Abkhazia and South Ossetia on a plate.
They say “Guys, solve it yourselves, tell them you’re sorry” and so on. On the other hand, Richard Norland, as a skilled diplomat, knows well that apologies from Georgia would make the strive for independence of Abkhazia and Ossetia much stronger. It will mean that they were right in everything. So we did, in fact, discriminate them and they had the right to break away to feel themselves like free people.
Of course, after apologies, peace will be quite likely. But it will be peace between two or three independent states. “Please, let’s be friends but everyone will be on his own from now on,” they would say.
Or do you think the US and Europe will regret that Georgia suddenly recognizes independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia? On the contrary, we would be praised, you are such nice guys like de Gaulle who recognized independence of Algeria.
- Why did this statement coincide with ‘evacuation’ of ex-President Saakashvili, who left the country a day before the inauguration of the new president and his location remains unknown? Maybe it is a symptom of a u-turn in the US policy in the South Caucasus?
- There is no u-turn. A u-turn needs sensible policy. The US needs to work with our region objectively in order to develop a sensible policy. They just do not have strength and time for that. Even if they solve their own interior problems, they have plenty of pain in the neck with Iran and Syria. Israel is ready to torpedo all possible compromises with Iran and so on. All in all, the statement of Norland is clearly for the new authorities: they would do what Saakashvili would never do for Abkhazia and South Ossetia. How realistic is this US plan is a totally different subject.
