PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF GEORGIA

 

Calling on the Russian Federation to stop conducting military exercises near its territorial waters, Ambassador Irakli Alasania of Georgia told correspondents, at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, that such actions and others undermined the Russian role in the peace process between his Government and Abkhaz separatists.

“While Georgia remains committed to a peaceful diplomatic solution and to implementation of the agreed peace plans, these actions appear to indicate that Russia has not yet made the strategic decision to be part of the solution rather than be part of the problem”, Mr. Alasania said.

He said the military exercises, directed against the national interests of his country and threatening the region’s security, were a violation of the United Nations Charter and had caused serious economic damage to his country, as well as endangering its marine environment.

He noted that the exercises preceded Security Council discussions, slated for this month, on the latest developments in Georgia and followed the espionage arrests of Russian military intelligence officers, who were recently handed over to representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for further transfer to the Russian Federation.

Despite that goodwill gesture, he said, the Russian authorities had suspended all transport and postal links with Georgia, and Russian legislators were threatening to suspend bank transfers as well.

Those actions, as well as what he called “illogical statements” of high-level Russian officials, made it clear that the Federation had territorial ambitions in regard to Georgia, and that it was threatened by Georgia’s aspirations to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, he said.

Such factors amplified his country’s request for the departure of Russian peacekeepers serving under the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia.

“It is clear that the Russian peacekeeping force is not an impartial nor international contingency”, Mr. Alasania said, claiming that the force failed to create a favourable security environment for the return of 300,000 Georgian citizens who he said had been ethnically cleansed from Abkhazia.

“If the Russian Government wishes to get back lost credibility as a facilitator in a conflict settlement, then it must act like one and behave responsibly”, he said, affirming Georgia’s desire that Russia play a positive role in such a settlement.

Correspondents questioned Mr. Alasania about the causes of the latest tensions between the Russian Federation and Georgia, whether, for example, they were related to petroleum resources.  He replied that the issue of Georgia’s energy independence had receded as an issue; the main obstacle now was his country’s aspirations for membership in the Euro-Atlantic Community, which should not be seen as a threat to its neighbour.

Statements by Russian officials linking the Georgian situation to Kosovo were particularly worrisome, he said.  He could see no linkage.

Finally, asked about accusations of money laundering in Georgia, Mr. Alasania replied that such illegal activities were a consequence of a country not controlling its national territory.

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For information media • not an official record