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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Putin ratchets up tension with Georgia
2009-08-13
Isn't he just a prime minister?
Vladimir Putin stoked tensions in the tinderbox Caucasus region on Wednesday, saying Moscow will spend nearly half a billion dollars next year beefing up its military presence in Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia.
That's a lot of money in $70 a barrel of oil days. Does the Rooskie military have that kind of change?
The Russian prime minister's announcement raised the spectre of Russian and US frigates patrolling the same patch of water in the Black Sea.
And keeps the Russian public from pondering the economic meltdown ...
Much of the money is expected to fund construction of a new naval base in the Abkhaz town of Ochamchira, within striking distance of Georgia's Poti and Batumi ports, which have been visited by US warships since the war in Georgia last summer. An existing Russian air base further north in Gudauta is also likely to be enlarged.

The plans enraged Georgia, just a day after the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, irked the leadership of another post-Soviet foe, Ukraine. Kiev responded angrily when Medvedev wrote a letter to President Viktor Yushchenko accusing his country of distorting history, discriminating against Russian speakers and "obstructing" Russia's Black Sea fleet.

The Kremlin had already mooted plans for military expansion into Abkhazia but Putin confirmed the scale of the budget for the first time today. "We will allot a very large amount of money -- 15 to 16bn roubles (£300m) -- for the development of our military base and strengthening of Abkhazia's state border next year," he told reporters, prior to visiting the republic. "This is an additional and serious guarantee of the security of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," he added.

Tension between Russia and Georgia has been high since they marked the first anniversary of their five-day war in South Ossetia last week.

In an interview with the Guardian, Georgia's deputy foreign minister, Alexander Nalbandov, said Russia's military expansion into Abkhazia violated the peace agreement brokered by the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. "This is an illegal initiative on occupied territory and we call on the international community to condemn it," he said.

Nato is increasingly nervous at Russia extending its power beyond its borders and expressed "concern" earlier this year over reports that Russia planned to increase its military footprint in Abkhazia. Only Russia and Nicaragua have recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent and under international law the construction of bases on what is officially Georgian territory will be illegal.
Putin's already demonstrated what he thinks of that ...
However, protests are likely to fall on deaf ears. The Kremlin has made it clear it will sign bilateral agreements with both republics as "partner states" as it sees fit. A deal on military and economic cooperation was signed with both regions in November last year.
Under international law, Russia is allowed to bully its neighbors, whereas when the US does it, it's intolerable interference. You could look it up ...
James Nixey, a Russian foreign policy expert at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, said Moscow's bullish stance towards US allies Georgia and Ukraine showed the west's attempts to "reset" relations with Russia were "on the point of failure".

"The common thread here is ultimately power projection," he said. "The most important part of Russian foreign policy is to be a regional leader, to have a kind of lordship over the neighbourhood. It wants to play a controlling influence in all of the former Soviet states."

Moscow had expected less explicit US support for Ukraine and Georgia under President Barack Obama, and was now letting its displeasure be known, said Nixey. "We're seeing an incremental ratcheting up of the tension, which is how we got to where we were back in the Bush administration."

Ariel Cohen, a Russia expert at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said Russia's "trajectory towards annexation of Abkhazia" reflected its "increasingly assertive stance" and belief that the former Soviet region and eastern Europe are its "privileged sphere of interests".

"In the context of pushing the reset button in relations, this is a poke in the eye for the US and the Europeans," he said.
Posted by:Steve White

#2  The Russians make money off the BTC Pipeline, although not from Georgia. The Turks hinted of a shunt line through Armenia when their leader made history by visiting the capital of a state that was once sovereign over a quarter of what is now Turkey. A status quo peace is likely for awhile.
Posted by: Unitle Borgia4836   2009-08-13 04:35  

#1  Knock it off Putin. Other things are in store.
Posted by: newc   2009-08-13 00:33  

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