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VASHADZE ADDRESSES GEORGIA'S POLITICAL CHALLENGES
By Ernest Petrosyan
The Messenger
June 25 2012
Georgia
The Russian military drills planned for Autumn 2012 do not just
arbitrarily coincide with the upcoming Georgian parliamentary
elections, said Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze in an
interview with the Ukrainian journal Zerkalo Nedeli.
"Ahead of Russia's intervention in Georgia in 2008, Moscow also
conducted Kavkaz 2008 drills. This year Russia is going to conduct
even larger drills close to our borders, and this event will indeed
accidently coincide with our elections," said Vashadze.
The Georgian FM assumed that Georgia is absolutely necessary to
Russia. "Firstly, LTD Kremlin Inc wants to cut alternative energy
routes to Europe. Secondly, if Russia achieves military and political
dictatorship over Georgia, the rest of the South Caucasus states
will not need any care: "You close the bottle neck, which contains
our sovereignty- the rest of the states in our region are deprived
of access to the Black sea," said Vashadze.
Vashadze continued, explaining that the Kremlin is tired of hearing
annoying positive references to Georgian reforms. In addition,
Georgia's independent foreign policy is also irritating for Russia,
as it considers Georgia its "internal garden." Especially when it
comes to the alliance; it's like the red scarf for a bull.
Continuing on the topic of Russian-Georgian relations, the Georgian
Foreign Minister firmly responded that Georgia is not going to refuse
NATO membership for the sake of the restoration of diplomatic ties
with the Russian Federation. "It [NATO integration] is the choice of
our people, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that Georgia becomes
a full member of NATO in a historically short period of time. We need
NATO membership to secure the policy course of building a democratic
state with a market economy," Vashadze said, adding that Moscow is
paranoid about it.
Asked on what terms Georgia is ready to restore diplomatic
relations with Russia, Vashadze said that terms should be based on
the universally-recognized norms and principles of international
law, namely de-occupation, recognition of territorial integrity,
independence and sovereignty and the rights of our people to determine
their foreign policy. Vashadze said that the president gave its
approval to Russia's accession to the WTO. If not our will, no one
would have forced us to sign a protocol with Russia, he said.
Among other points, Vashadze stressed the recent events that
have occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh. "God save us from a new
Armenian-Azerbaijiani war - it will bury the sovereignty and
independence of all three South Caucasus states. I sincerely hope that
the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group will lead to an urgent discharge.
But the third force is actively working to ensure that the Minsk Group
does not reach any progress, and that tensions along the ceasefire
line persist as long as possible," said Vashadze, implying that the
Russian Federation is the "third force".
During the interview, Vashadze was asked about the problems in
Georgian-Azeri relations and then flatly denied that there were any.
"We have issues that require constant attention and hard and quiet
work. Any tantrum only prevents it. There is an issue about the
monastery complex David Gareji. But, the Georgian-Azerbaijani
commission is working on the delimitation and demarcation of the
border. While the commission works in a quiet and friendly atmosphere,
tourists have unimpeded access to the entire monastery complex,"
Vashadze concluded.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Ernest Petrosyan
The Messenger
June 25 2012
Georgia
The Russian military drills planned for Autumn 2012 do not just
arbitrarily coincide with the upcoming Georgian parliamentary
elections, said Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze in an
interview with the Ukrainian journal Zerkalo Nedeli.
"Ahead of Russia's intervention in Georgia in 2008, Moscow also
conducted Kavkaz 2008 drills. This year Russia is going to conduct
even larger drills close to our borders, and this event will indeed
accidently coincide with our elections," said Vashadze.
The Georgian FM assumed that Georgia is absolutely necessary to
Russia. "Firstly, LTD Kremlin Inc wants to cut alternative energy
routes to Europe. Secondly, if Russia achieves military and political
dictatorship over Georgia, the rest of the South Caucasus states
will not need any care: "You close the bottle neck, which contains
our sovereignty- the rest of the states in our region are deprived
of access to the Black sea," said Vashadze.
Vashadze continued, explaining that the Kremlin is tired of hearing
annoying positive references to Georgian reforms. In addition,
Georgia's independent foreign policy is also irritating for Russia,
as it considers Georgia its "internal garden." Especially when it
comes to the alliance; it's like the red scarf for a bull.
Continuing on the topic of Russian-Georgian relations, the Georgian
Foreign Minister firmly responded that Georgia is not going to refuse
NATO membership for the sake of the restoration of diplomatic ties
with the Russian Federation. "It [NATO integration] is the choice of
our people, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that Georgia becomes
a full member of NATO in a historically short period of time. We need
NATO membership to secure the policy course of building a democratic
state with a market economy," Vashadze said, adding that Moscow is
paranoid about it.
Asked on what terms Georgia is ready to restore diplomatic
relations with Russia, Vashadze said that terms should be based on
the universally-recognized norms and principles of international
law, namely de-occupation, recognition of territorial integrity,
independence and sovereignty and the rights of our people to determine
their foreign policy. Vashadze said that the president gave its
approval to Russia's accession to the WTO. If not our will, no one
would have forced us to sign a protocol with Russia, he said.
Among other points, Vashadze stressed the recent events that
have occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh. "God save us from a new
Armenian-Azerbaijiani war - it will bury the sovereignty and
independence of all three South Caucasus states. I sincerely hope that
the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group will lead to an urgent discharge.
But the third force is actively working to ensure that the Minsk Group
does not reach any progress, and that tensions along the ceasefire
line persist as long as possible," said Vashadze, implying that the
Russian Federation is the "third force".
During the interview, Vashadze was asked about the problems in
Georgian-Azeri relations and then flatly denied that there were any.
"We have issues that require constant attention and hard and quiet
work. Any tantrum only prevents it. There is an issue about the
monastery complex David Gareji. But, the Georgian-Azerbaijani
commission is working on the delimitation and demarcation of the
border. While the commission works in a quiet and friendly atmosphere,
tourists have unimpeded access to the entire monastery complex,"
Vashadze concluded.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress