Georgy Volskiy: «Repartition of current realities is fraught with tension»

There was a huge scandal at the beginning of the summer, caused by an incident in the Galsky region. On the 1st of June a group of Abkhazian customs officers was ambushed, resulting in one dead and two injured. On the 4th of June in the village of Dikhazurga (in Galsky region) five houses were set on fire. There were several opinions on the cases: the head of the Abkhazian Customs Committee qualified it as an act of sabotage by the Georgian special services against Abkhazian customs officers, Georgian mass media reported that there was a clash between Russian soldiers and locals near the villages of Saberio and Dikhazurgi. An EU observer mission claimed that it has information concerning arrests and arson attacks caused by the official's death.

VK asked Georgy Volsky, expert of International Geopolitical Research Center in Tbilisi, to comment on the situation.

-This event has shown once again that the positions of Russia and Georgia regarding Abkhazian security differ a great deal. Do you think there is another point of view on what has happened in the Galsky region?

First of all, I want to express my condolences to the families of the Georgians and Abkhazians who died. I can't say that I have any «third» viewpoint , but these contradictions in positions and the lack of reliable grounding in official outgivings of the both sides, threaten people's lives and stability. Houses of local Georgians were burned and Georgians were killed after acts of terrorism, but where are the facts proving that they were guilty or acting on Tbilisi’s orders? Why are we only giving consideration to official statements and not to the opinion of ordinary people, Abkhazian and Georgian? There is a redistribution of spheres of influence, and it has nothing to do with ethnicity. Thus, Georgians work in the local administration, Abkhazians work in the security structures (including the Customs Service). Various criminal organizations can be mixed or monoethnic.

-For whom is it profitable to maintain tension in the region?

The answer is not very surprising: for no side. The Galsky region is richer than others and is more favourable for trading relations with regions on the left bank of the Inguri river, and people are connected by family ties. The Georgian population is disqualified by the Abkhazian administration, therefore there is a need to control the movements of people, trade and money.

Let me put it in a nutshell: the Abkhazian security structures control the economy and the movements of Georgians. And «new politic reality», conditionally speaking, ruins this «balance». Leaving aside political issues, I can believe that the Russian government wishes to regulate the situation on the «border» with Georgia. The question is, whether local forces also have the same desire, if they can hold back from temptation to seize the initiative. I doubt that Russian-Abkhazian relations are full of «love and peace», considering that Russians inculcate their own rules and interests. And a repartition of current realities is fraught with tension. The Inguri river is not a 3000 kilometre-long Afghan-Pakistan border, for «sabotage groups» to be able to sneak in, kill the custom officers and slip away unnoticed.

-What actions can prevent such incidents?

Political will from all the sides is needed. An agreement between sides, not states (Georgia, Abkhazia) about security assurances is required, about a guarantor group (for example, USA, Russia, UN, EU), which will create an observer mission in the Galsky region and will invite the United Nations Development Programme, create UN office for human rights and withdraw Russian troops. I think, considering current Russian-Georgian relations, this variant is ideal.

-Why is the reaction of the West so restrained?

The main political statements about non-recognition and the need to find a peaceful way of solving the problem have been made, and the work is to do be done without shouting and declarations.

- Is the Western attitude towards the Russian-Georgian conflict going to change? And what can make it change?

For the moment, stability in the region is in the interest of the West. The rapprochement between Russia, the US and the EU is leading to cooperation on the «Georgian issue». However, our government can't affect this process, unfortunately, and if it could, there would be lots of mistakes made.

Maria Platonova, Suhumi-Volgograd.