OSCE Astana summit and Georgia

The OSCE Astana Summit is over. It has been an important event, because the OSCE summit had not been convened since Istanbul, 11 years ago. Maybe not formally but practically, the Georgian issue could be considered the most important one in the agenda. Not because it concerns Georgia and we are important, but because of the fact that the 2008 August Russian invasion of Georgia revealed all the threats and problems and challenges which are facing Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe as the security of the continent was at risk.

As it is known, as a result of the 08.08.08 war, Russia has violated Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignity, recognized its breakaway territories as independent states, concluded military agreements with those two puppet regimes and deployed more than 12 000 military personnel on those territories. They claim that they are deployed there on legal grounds as these territories are no longer Georgian, thus breaking the commitments which it made at the 1999 Istanbul Summit, to withdraw its military personnel from Georgian territory. Since launching an attack on Georgia, Russia has stubbornly tried to legitimize in the South Caucasus a so called “new reality” as the Kremlin applies a positive veneer to its aggressive steps. Almost two and a half years later, we can say that on an international level Russia’s adventurous policy has failed. Nobody apart from Nicaragua, Venezuela with its odious regimes and the miniscule South Pacific island of Nauru, recognized the puppet entities. Moreover, all Western countries demand that Russia follows the 2008 August 12 commitments and de-occupies Georgia by withdrawing its troops from the territories, recall its recognition of the puppet regimes and conduct itself in a civilized way.

Just on the eve of Astana Summit, Saakashvili destroyed one more argument by Moscow and publicly declared that Georgia is not going to try and resolve the conflict situation by using force and, furthermore, he expressed his country’s readiness to conduct unconditional dialogue with Russia. The same sentiments were repeated at the OSCE summit.

For the West, and generally for the OSCE countries, as well as for invited guests, Georgia’s position is acceptable and understandable, and therefore, respected. On the other hand, the Russian response is clumsy, awkward and inadequate. In this regard, Moscow’s position, voiced by President Medvedev, about the World Security System, looked ridiculous and cynical. How could an aggressor country, which illegally occupies the territories of a neighbor state, initiate any peace moves? Russia wants to cheat the whole world, but the world is not blind. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov declined categorically to sign the document, where there would be stated conflict resolution in Georgia. On the globes and maps in the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Tskhinvali region) are “independent”. (!) So, with such a stubborn policy, Russia marginalizes itself.

Of course, the Astana Summit cannot force Moscow to follow its resolutions, decisions and recommendations, but as time passes the Kremlin policy looks increasingly like a strip tease dancer, becoming more and more naked and arrogant.