Moscow suspects the US is preventing the normalization of Georgia-Russia relations
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, June 27
Moscow fears that the United States is trying to do everything to prevent the normalization of relations between the Russian Federation and Georgia.
The statement was made by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when commenting on the recent anti-Russian protests in Georgia, which followed the arrival of the Russian MPs in Tbilisi parliament while attending the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) last week.
Russian diplomat says “some analysts have paid attention to the fact that several days before the provocation, which was staged in the Georgian parliament, the head of the Joe Biden Foundation visited Tbilisi and was actively working not only on the sidelines but also urged not get involved in the development of relations with the Russian Federation.”
“We still have concerns that in this case, our American colleagues are trying to do everything to prevent the normalization of relations between Russia and Georgia, and this normalization has been observed in recent years with all the evidence,” Lavrov said.
The Russian minister also noted the role of the United States and its allies is estimated soberly, adding “western countries ignore manifestations of nationalism and Russophobia in Georgia.”
“Western curators are ready to close their eyes to the excesses of the nationalists, Russophobia, just to break all ties of the people of Georgia with our country, rewrite our common history,” he said.
Lavrov also claims Russia does not isolate itself from anyone, does not move away from a dialogue on the issues where there are opportunities for joint mutually beneficial work to suppress problems common to all humanity, such as terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
On June, 20 IAO President Sergey Gavrilov opened the session in the Georgian parliament. Opposition lawmakers were outraged by the fact that Gavrilov addressed the event’s participants from the parliament speaker’s seat. In protest, they did not allow the IAO session to continue. Later, a decision was taken to wrap up the session and for the Russian delegation to leave the country. During the riots, 240 people were injured, more than 300 were detained.
The developments were followed by the decree of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, who banned flights with Georgia from July 8 “for the safety of Russian tourists,” and also tightening of the control on Georgian wine export to Russia.
Anti-Russian rallies are underway in Georgia. The demonstrators are also demanding the resignation of Georgian Interior Minister Georgi Gakharia and the release of all people detained during the riots.
Russia occupied 20% of Georgian territories in the wake of August 2008 war which left Georgia’s breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia under the control of the Northern neighbor.
Only Syria, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Russia recognize Georgia’s breakaway regions as independent states. The rest of the international community says they are integral parts of Georgia.
