Alexander Skakov: "People should come from Georgia to Russia easily"

Interview by Daria Melikhova, exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza


Yesterday the current president of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili flew to Brussels. “I think my visit to the EU is symbolic. I would like to state my opinion on the presidential elections in the country. It would be a pity, if Georgia chose the wrong path. But I am comforted by the thought that we have lost elections, but have done a lot of good things,” Saakashvili said ahead of the visit and promised to return to the country, even though his opponents believe he escapes Georgia.

The coordinator of the working group of the Institute of Central Asia and the Caucasus at the Institute for Oriental Studies, Alexander Skakov, told Vestnik Kavkaza about his views on the results of the presidential elections in Georgia.


-    What do you think about the results of the presidential elections in Georgia?

-    The results of the elections in general were predictable. Everyone expected that the candidate of "Georgian Dream" was going to win. There was a question of whether there would be two rounds. Most probably, only one round, as happened in the end. The surprise is something else. The surprise is that the candidate from the former ruling party, the United National Movement, has won more votes than was expected, and the third contender, Nino Burjanadze, well known to all, has won fewer votes than she was expected to.

-    How can it be explained?

-    Probably, Burjanadze has certain baggage because she was in power, and has been in power together with Saakashvili. Probably this prevents her somehow from finding her own niche. Although, in principle, she has her own niche.

As for the candidate from the United National Movement, it confirms that the UNM remains in Georgian politics and will influence it as the main opposition force in Georgia.

The question of what is going to happen with the "Georgian Dream." whether it will be able to keep its integrity, it is a coalition of rather different forces, or whether it is also facing decay. Here again, there are more questions than answers, especially since we do not know who will be the Prime Minister of Georgia, and according to the amended Constitution of Georgia the Prime Minister has much more power than the president. The president is more of a "decorative" figure compared to the Prime Minister. Since Ivanishvili is clearly leaving, the question of who he will propose as his successor, who will be approved by the parliament is also a very serious and important matter, and the future dialogue between Russia and Georgia largely depends on it.

-    Will the dialogue take place?

-    The fact that it will take place is beyond doubt. I think that Russia and Georgia, to put it mildly, are destined to engage in dialogue. We are neighboring countries, and we have to try to agree at least on some issues as long as it is possible and real. But there are partners more suitable for a dialogue and less suitable. So, of course, very much depends on personalities. The dialogue will also be conducted on different subjects. I do not only think, I'm confident that it will not be conducted on the topic of the recognition or non-recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Moscow has to discuss it not with Tbilisi, but with Brussels and Washington. It is there that the issue of the recognition of these new countries is being resolved. We will have a dialogue about more mundane, actual issues. It is not only the export of Georgian goods to the Russian market. I am talking about communication issues between the two countries. It is not normal that at the moment Russia and Georgia are connected only by one highway. If mutual trade relations develop, especially given the fact that Georgia is for us a window to Armenia, given that, I think that this road is congested, and that it simply will not be able to sustain the flow of goods. Therefore, the development of new communication between Russia and Georgia can be discussed. Such projects have existed, they still exist, and they can be addressed.

-    Can the visa regime issue be settled?

-    The visa regime can be maintained on the way from Georgia to Russia and from Russia to Georgia. This is not the issue. The issue is that people should safely travel from Georgia to Russia. Now for a citizen of Georgia it is more difficult to come to Russia than to, for example, Australia, Japan, etc. This is not a normal situation. I think that this can be and needs to be discussed. Also, probably, we have to develop some kind of cultural, social, scholarly communications, communications in the field of education between Russia and Georgia, all of this can also be discussed. Gradually, perhaps starting from such small things, which are nevertheless very important, we can move to more serious things, particularly to security issues in the region, security of borders between Russia and Georgia, security in the North Caucasus, security issues at the Olympic Games in Sochi, etc. This is also very important for both Russia and Georgia, because an explosion in the North Caucasus is a huge threat to the future of Georgia, far more so than for Russia, and I think now that the Georgian leadership, unlike Saakashvili, understands that.