Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The Russian President’s statement on possible elimination of the visa regime for Georgian citizens surprised many Georgian experts. In fact it contradicts the firm position of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs on the conditions of launching a visa-free regime with Georgia. Not only official representatives of the Ministry, but the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov himself have many times stated that visas will be canceled only after reconstruction of diplomatic relations. The Georgian Premier’s envoy on settlement of relations with Russia, ambassador Zurab Abashidze, told Vestnik Kavkaza that during the Prague consultations with the deputy foreign minister of Russia Grigory Karasin “the question was discussed in this context.” At the same time, if we listened to Putin’s statement carefully, we would hear that he didn’t promise to make such a decision, referring to a detailed analysis of “the formal side of the question.”
However, Vladimir Putin’s statement has another “bottom” – the question asked by a Georgian journalist at the final press conference on the visa-free regime and the answer of the Russian President demonstrate (whether Georgian politicians like it or not) that the most acute problem for Georgian society is not the withdrawal of Russian troops from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, not the rejection of the recognition of the former Georgian autonomies as independent states by Moscow, but the opportunity for Georgian citizens to visit Russia without visas.
It should be admitted that Vladimir Putin used the opportunity very skillfully: he showed the West that the Georgian people care about normalization of relations with Russia, including the visa-free regime. Therefore, third countries shouldn’t worry about the territorial integrity of Georgia and shouldn’t quarrel with Moscow about it. If Georgia is more concerned about the visa-free regime with the country which is officially called “an occupant country” in documents of the Georgian parliament and their Foreign Ministry, why should other countries which are interested in cooperation with Russia in many international and bilateral spheres be involved in the strange relations of love and hatred?
It is difficult to say whether the journalist of Rustavi-2 realized all these political aspects when she asked her question (probably it was agreed with the press service of the Kremlin beforehand), but she definitely hit the mark. And not only because Putin’s answer was adequate, but also because it really reflects the views in Georgian society.
The former head of the Stationery Office, Petre Mamradze, told Vestnik Kavkaza that the situation over the Russian consulate in Tbilisi was a bright example of people’s views: “I have many times watched how crowds of people who want to obtain Russian visas besieged the Russian consulate on Chavchavadze Avenue in the center of Tbilisi. Sometimes there are so many people that they block off the central avenue of the city.”
However, many people in Tbilisi are sure that if Moscow eliminates the visa regime, it will be only “a carrot” ahead of signing the association agreement between Georgia and the EU in August 2014.
