Russian Leader Slams Tbilisi’s Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on January 31 that blaming Moscow for Georgia’s recent energy crisis was an act of “spitting” at Russia, in what appears to be one more signs of extremely tense ties between the troubled neighbors.

Twin blasts on gas pipelines in Russia’s North Ossetian Republic on January 22 cut off the gas supply to Georgia and triggered an energy crisis in the country. Shortly after these explosions Georgian President Saakashvili blamed Moscow for masterminding a “series of sabotage acts” against Georgia and labeled Russia “an unprincipled blackmailer.”

Putin was speaking with about 1,000 reporters from Russia and abroad at an annual press conference in the Kremlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on January 31 that the policy exerted by the Georgian leadership towards Russia hinders improvement of bilateral ties.

“Yes, a misfortune happened and the [gas] supplies were suspended. Our experts were working day and night in the mountains under the condition of -30C temperatures in order to restore gas supplies to Georgia. And what we received in response from the Georgian authorities – only spitting towards us,” Putin said.

He warned that Tbilisi’s policy will not help to improve “the living conditions of an ordinary Georgian citizen. And the Georgian authorities will bear the responsibility for this.”

“As for our intentions, we think that the Georgian people are more close to us, by their history and culture. How many Georgians lived and still live in Russia? How many citizens of the Russian Federation and former Soviet Union have contributed to the development and strengthening of Russia? We appreciate it greatly and never forget this. We hope that this is a good bridge for strengthening friendly relations in almost all directions. We are ready for it,” Putin added.

In his response Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili said at a news conference on January 31 that the statement by President Putin “was not [made in] a tone in which two sovereign states should speak with each other.”

A separate statement made by President Putin on January 30 about ‘frozen conflicts’ in the post-Soviet space will most likely trigger more concerns in Tbilisi.

Speaking with his government members in the Kremlin, President Putin instructed Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to exert a policy of “universality” during talks over Kosovo’s future status, which, as Putin said, can serve as a model for other conflicts.

“All options of the proposed solutions, which you will discuss – and I want you to remind this to [your] colleagues – should be of a universal character. This is very important for the post-Soviet space. Unfortunately, not all the conflicts have been solved in the post-Soviet space and we can not follow the practice in which in one case we will accept one principle and in another case another [principle],” Putin said.

Putin instructed Lavrov ahead of the latter’s trip to London, where a meeting of the Contact Group on Kosovo, involving the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, is scheduled.

The Russian Foreign Minister said at the same meeting that Russia will pursue a policy of “universality,” despite the fact that “some of our partners in the Contact Group are trying to write a thesis in the document that Kosovo is a unique case which can not create a precedent.”

It is expected that relations between Georgia and Russia will further hit slump during the first-half of February. Parliamentary hearings about the performance of the Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia will reportedly take place on February 7. It is most likely that the Parliament will instruct the government to launch procedures for the peacekeepers’ withdrawal, beginning on February 15.

Moscow has already warned that a withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers may trigger more tensions in South Ossetia.