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Railroad Landing: Georgia Dismayed By The Deployment Of Russia's Rai

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  • Railroad Landing: Georgia Dismayed By The Deployment Of Russia's Rai

    GEORGIA DISMAYED BY THE DEPLOYMENT OF RUSSIA'S RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION TROOPS IN ABKHAZIA
    Alexander Gabuev

    Kommersant
    June 2 2008
    Russia

    Railroad Landing

    Russia deployed its railroad construction troops in Abkhazia. Moscow
    referred to the necessity to repair a railroad that'll link the
    breakaway republic to Russia and its Olympic facilities of Sochi. In
    its turn, Tbilisi regards Russia's maneuvers as "plotting a military
    invasion." The USA immediately sided with Georgia. Nonetheless,
    according to the information of Kommersant, the deployment of Russia's
    units in Abkhazia may be a part of Moscow's preparation for a meeting
    of Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Mikhail Saakashvili planned for
    this week.

    Road to war

    "With the pretext of restoring a trunk-railway in Abkhazia, Russia
    conceals its preparation for a large-scale military operation aiming at
    annexation and occupation of Georgia," stated Deputy Defense Minister
    of Georgia Batu Kutelia. "We consider the activity of Russia as
    another act of aggression directed against the territorial integrity
    of Georgia. No doubt, the Russian party is consolidating the military
    infrastructure to start a military intervention," Deputy Foreign
    Minister of Georgia Grigol Vashadze echoed Mr Kutelia. "No one deploys
    railroad construction troops on the territory of another state unless
    a military intervention is plotted." Mr Vashadze reported that due to
    the recent activity of Russia a 59th note of protest will be handed
    over to Russia's ambassador to Georgia Vyacheslav Kovalenko. "In spite
    of the fact that it's hard to find the Russian ambassador on occasions
    like this, we'll find him, bring to the MFA and hand over the note,"
    Mr Vashadze added with irritation.

    It is Russia's deployment of its railroad construction troops in
    Abkhazia, which Russia's Defense Minister announced Saturday, that
    aroused the indignation of the Georgian government. "According to
    the order of the President of the Russian Federation on rendering
    assistance to the republic of Abkhazia, work on restoring railroad
    lines and infrastructure has been started, where unarmed units
    and machines of the Railroad Construction Troops of the Russian
    Federation are engaged," reported the Ministry's Press-Service. In
    other words, the military justified their activity with the orders
    that Vladimir Putin gave to the government in April. By the way,
    Thursday Commander-in-Chief of the Railroad Construction Troops
    of the Russian Federation Lieutenant General Sergey Klimets stated
    that his subordinates are ready to provide aid to Abkhazia "in case a
    corresponding political decision is made." It means that the decision
    to send Russian troops to Abkhazia was taken at the top level.

    Yesterday Foreign Office Chief of the breakaway republic Sergey
    Shamba told Kommersant that some 400 Russian military were deployed
    in Abkhazia. However, Saturday Batu Kutelia stated that, apart from
    the railroad construction soldiers, 500 Russian commandos landed in
    Abkhazia. Curiously, on that day Russia's Defense Ministry reported
    that a routine rotation of its peace-keepers was carried out in
    Abkhazia from May 25 to May 30, with "the total number of those
    replaced amounting to 500 people," which equals to the figure given
    by the Georgian Defense Ministry's experts.

    Tbilisi has already promised to rebuff "the Russian railroad
    landing." "If Russia keeps on with that sort of activity, we'll
    respond harshly to it," Batu Kutelia threatened and promised that the
    international community will side with Georgia. A few hours later
    State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said, "The United States
    is dismayed by Russia's Defense Ministry announcement on May 31 that
    it intends to send more military forces into the Georgian region of
    Abkhazia without the consent of the Georgian Government. We have
    expressed our concerns to the Russian government and are in touch
    with the Georgian government about this latest announcement of a
    Russian military buildup," emphasized the American diplomat.

    Road to Sochi

    The authorities of Abkhazia explain the activity of Russia's Defense
    Ministry with purely economic reasons. "There is no malicious intent
    in it - many people want our railroad system to be restored, mainly
    from economic considerations," Sergey Shamba told Kommersant. In
    particular, from the Abkhazian Foreign Office Chief's viewpoint,
    "one should take into consideration the forthcoming Olympics in Sochi
    - the railroad can be of use when it comes to transporting cargoes
    necessary for constructing Olympic facilities."

    Interestingly, May 16 Governor of the Krasnodar region Alexander
    Tkachev also mentioned the need to organize transportation of different
    materials from Abkhazia by railroad. On that day Mr Tkachev signed
    an agreement between his region and the breakaway republic about
    supplies of building materials for Sochi. The governor believes that
    it's more convenient to supply them from Abkhazia rather than from
    other regions of Russia because the unrecognized republic is just 40
    km away from the area where the facilities are erected.

    These initiatives are supported by the Russian government as well. For
    example, in March, as Moscow unilaterally lifted the sanctions against
    the breakaway republic, Head of the Ministry for Regional Development
    Dmitry Kozak said that Russia saw no hindrance to purchasing building
    materials and hiring workers from Abkhazia for fulfilling the Sochi
    project.

    Yesterday Sergey Shamba told Kommersant that the Abkhazian authorities
    hope that the restoration works at the railroad will be completed for
    the most part in three months. Governor Tkachev planned to begin with
    building materials supplies from Abkhazia to Sochi right at that time.

    Road to the South Caucasus

    For all that, the restoration of the railroad on the territory of
    Abkhazia will allow Russia to gain much more than just a cheap
    transportation route for shipping Abkhazian gravel and sand to
    Sochi. Moscow has been repeatedly trying to repair the railroad
    (which was destroyed in the course of the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict)
    linking it with Georgia via Abkhazia: It will enable Moscow to have a
    direct railroad communication with its key ally in the South Caucasus
    - Armenia.

    As far back as March, 2003 Moscow made its first attempt to do it - the
    question of restoring the railroad became one of the key points during
    the talks of Vladimir Putin and Georgia's president Eduard Shevardnadze
    in Sochi. That time Russia and Georgia negotiated a bargain: Tbilisi
    provided for a smooth transit between Russia and Armenia, and Moscow
    promised to thrash out with Sukhumi the matter of Georgian refugees'
    returning to Abkhazia. These negotiations didn't stop even after the
    Rose Revolution broke out, and May, 2006 the authorities of Russia,
    Georgia, Armenia and Abkhazia even set up a consortium to restore the
    railroad. But the escalation of tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi
    in the autumn of 2006 prevented the plan from being realized.

    According to the information of Kommersant, Moscow has been striving to
    resume the talks about these agreements. For instance, Vladimir Putin
    ordered that railroad communications be restored as he suspended his
    ban on transport links with Georgia in April. Officials with Russian
    Railways told Kommersant that the matter stalls because a large part
    of a railroad line is missing from Sukhumi up to the Inguri river
    that separates Abkhazia from Georgia. Sergey Shamba told Kommersant
    that the mission of the Russian Railroad Construction Forces is to
    repair this section - from Sukhumi to Ochamchira. Plenipotentiary
    Representative of the Abkhazian President in the Gal region Ruslan
    Kishmaria assured Kommersant that reparation will soon start.

    According to Sergey Shamba, the question of the complete restoration
    of the railroad and resumption of communications from Russia in the
    Georgian and Armenian direction may be raised in the near future. The
    sources of Kommersant with Russian Railways and Georgian railways
    confirm it, too. Russian Railways experts are to go to the site soon
    to give their estimate of the complexity of works and the investments
    required. Head of Georgian Railways Irakli Ezugbai assesses the program
    of restoring the Abkhazian railroad infrastructure at $241 mln. Sergey
    Shamba told Kommersant that so far the Russian government sponsors
    the works, but Sukhumi doesn't rule out the possibility of engaging
    Tbilisi and Yerevan in the project once devised by the consortium.

    The talks about restoring the railroad from Russia to Abkhazia are
    likely to focus on other issues as well. "The Georgian government
    can agree to do it only in exchange for significant dividends, say,
    repatriation of Georgian refugees to the North of the Gal region,
    or lifting the Russian embargo of Georgian goods," opines Georgian
    political analyst Nika Imnaishvili. Besides, the agreements must
    provide for the security of the route, especially at the Abkhazian
    sector. It means that Moscow, Tbilisi and Sukhumi will have to conclude
    a package agreement. Head of the Georgian Parliament Committee for
    the Restoration of the Country's Territorial Integrity Shota Malashhia
    confirmed it to Kommersant that Tbilisi insists on a package agreement.

    According to the information of Kommersant, many issues that are
    to be included in it have been under discussion, for example, peace
    guarantees in Abkhazia and repatriation of refugees. A personal meeting
    of Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev and his Georgian counterpart
    Mikhail Saakashvili must become a key point in the coordination of the
    matter. The meeting has been planned for June 6 in the framework of
    the CIS summit in St.-Petersburg. To make all necessary preparations
    for it, Deputy Russian Security Council Head Yury Zubakov visited
    Tbilisi last week. The diplomat is responsible for settling disputes
    on the territory of the former Soviet Union. Another testimony
    of the parties' ability to come to an agreement has been Vladimir
    Putin's unexpectedly high estimate of the Georgian President's plan
    on resolving the Abkhazian conflict. In his interview to the French
    Le Monde, Russia's president said, "I hope that the plan proposed by
    Mikhail Saakashvili will be carried out, slowly but surely. On the
    whole, it's a good plan."
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