To my colleagues in the European parliament

Dear colleagues, as you know, some months ago Russia and the European Union agreed to begin the negotiations about our strategic partnership in a long term future. Unfortunately, precisely at the time of such negotiations Georgian authorities gave the order to open fire in South Ossetia against civilians (ethnic Ossetians) and Russian peacekeepers.  

The Georgian army opened fire by missiles, heavy guns, by military aircrafts and tanks. Only during the first hours hundreds victims and many thousand refugees appeared in South Ossetia. At the same time Georgian authorities and their patrons started hysterical propaganda, based on professional disinformation. Unfortunately, many people in the West (including some politicians) became victims of such information.

In this concrete situation the State Duma has issued a  specific statement ( dated August 25th) being initiated by the Committee on International Affairs and addressed to our colleagues over the world. Hope you’ll get this statement via official channels.
By this personal letter I want to protect you and your colleagues against any hurried acts based on one-side information only. I frankly believe that the last tragedy in the Caucasus will be not the first step of a new cold war or reason of the new split of our common Europe.

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First of all, some words about the historical background of this conflict. The father of it was a well known Georgian – Josef Stalin. Because of Stalin’s ethnic policy South Ossetia and Abkhazia became parts of the Georgian Socialist Republic. It was against the will of the named ethnic minorities. By the way, Ossetian people were mechanically divided into two parts (South Ossetia in the Soviet Georgia and Northern Ossetia in the Russian Federation). All the following decades they have been fighting against that inhuman decision in different forms. For the Ossetian people the situation was and is the same like it was in Germany in the Soviet times (BRD/DDR).

During the collapse of the USSR the new “democratic and independent” Georgia abandoned the autonomic status of South Ossetia. It was the reason of the first post-Soviet war between Tbilisi and ethnic minorities in early 90-ies. Only because of the Russian peacekeepers this sharp and bloody conflict became cooler during the last decade. The Russian side always (over 15 years, up to 8, August, 2008) has been calling for a political solution on the base of the agreement between Tbilisi and two unrecognized republics.

Meanwhile, the US and some other countries did make a lot for militarization of the Georgian life. Tbilisi, with its some 30 thousand persons army, spends annually almost $1 billion for its militaries. But with whom do they expect Georgia has to have a “victory war”: with its neighbor-states (Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia) or with “its own” ethnic minorities and some hundreds international peacekeepers?
As we can see in reality, Mr. Saakashvili needs tanks, guns, bombs and missiles for the unpunished attack on sleeping citizens, infants and a small group of international peacekeepers in the name of “the constitution order”. It is not a top secret that Mr. Saakashvili was in a hurry because of December NATO’s meeting, where he hopes to receive a positive answer on the Georgian application to this military union. 
Honestly, it is unbelievable, that night adventure of the Georgian president was without some kind of approval from Washington. Too many US political advisers surround Mr. Saakashvili all days and nights.

In this case why Washington did not give to Mr. Saakashvili a “recommendation” to stop the killing fire against civilians immediately? Why did the Americans declare their “deep concern” much later and only about the Russian army’s enforced reflection on Georgian brutal attack?

Who knows, maybe the US militaries want to check the level of the Russian army by the Georgian provocation? Or maybe some American politicians like to split Europe? Or maybe some American military companies dream about a new cold war with a new very profitable arm raise? Or the White House was too busy with their home elections? Anyway – the US authorities are the main sponsors of Mr. Saakashvili and they did nothing serious to prevent the Georgian bloody operation in South Ossetia.

One can say – the Bush Administration did not expect such an inhumane bombardment of the Georgian army. But even if so, they are responsible at least for three things:
• American political, military advisers and diplomats in Tbilisi did not block Saakashvili’s blitzkrieg at the beginning;
•  White House fully supported Tbilisi, but did not pay any serious attention to the results of barbarian attacks of the Georgian army on South Ossetia;
• The US government (by Pentagon) sent its humanitarian aid to one (Tbilisi) side of the conflict and never say words of mercy or condolence to Ossetia people killed by weapons and ammunition “made in USA”.   

For a better understanding of that tragedy and its consequences I want to ask in another way. Can you imagine what would be if somebody in one day kill some millions of US citizens? It is more or less the same in the scale of South Ossetia population, when we are speaking about hundreds civilian victims of only the first hours of the Georgian’s fire.   

The role of OSCE observers in that tragedy was also very strange. According to our information they had been informed by the Georgian authorities before the opening of the killing fire and disappeared from the dangerous place. But OSCE observers did not do anything to prevent the Georgian operation or to inform neither peacekeepers nor civilians in South Ossetia.     

Another question is the influence of Kosovo case. When some western countries started the war against Serbia “to protect ethnic minorities” in Kosovo they had not any mandate of the UN. We know well how many Serbian civilians were killed and civilian buildings destroyed by NATO. Why some of these countries blame Moscow now for “victims of the Russian fire” to stop Saakashvili’s bloody adventure? As we know, Americans in similar situations (struggling with “terror”, “non democratic regimes” and other “potential threats”) send their aircraft carriers and bombers thousand miles away from the USA and rarely respect an “official zone” of conflicts.
But this “double standard” is only one side of the named question. The other side is Kosovo precedent itself. The recognition of the “Kosovo independence” without a proper solution under the UN Security Council actually opened the “Pandora box”. The today’s behavior of the authorities in Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia has not the least consequence of the Kosovo precedent. Two of them – unrecognized republics - decided: “why Kosovo but not we” (their governments already recognized Kosovo as an independent state – do the same like Americans, but despite Russia!)? Georgia did not recognize Kosovo (like Russia, but despite America’s example) and possibly decided (after “Kosovo victory”) to “finish” immediately, by all means with both potential followers of Kosovo’s example.
Frankly speaking, Mr.Saakashvili did principally the same things - ethnic cleanings - in which the former Serbian leaders were accused by the International Tribunal and blamed by leaders of “the Western democracy”. The military operation against South Ossetia was even named by Georgian militaries “ Clean Field”?                    

One of the main questions we also have to answer clearly – why is “the democratic and independent” Georgia not attractive to “its” ethnic minorities? Maybe it is not so democratic indeed? Maybe there are too many serious questions connected with human rights (especially rights of minorities)? 

In the Soviet times I had some friends – ethnic Greeks, citizens of the Soviet Georgia. All of them prefer to leave this country forever. The only reason was a nationalistic behavior of “the young Georgian democracy”. “Georgia for Georgians” – this slogan they told me was among the most favorable at the beginning of “New Georgia”.

For some 15 years already Russian diplomats and politicians have sincerely done their utmost to secure territorial integrity of Georgia and ensure negotiating process between Abkhazia, South Ossetia   and Georgia.

We shall not let the third war to happen. At the State Duma session of March 21 st  Russian parliament has issued  a warning stating that in case of a new Georgian aggression the State Duma will initiate an issue of independence for Abkhazia and South Ossetia . Criminal actions of Mr. Saakashvili in August 7-12 made us raise independence issue in a special statement of the Russian parliament.
   
Now let me say some words about the PR technologies of this drama. One can say – Russia lost in the information war during the first days of the conflict. But the aim of my country was not information games with somebody. We had to stop by all means brutal and treacherous attempt to exterminate the whole ethnic minority – South Ossetia, to stop Georgian military operation “Clean Field”. Russia did not prepare such compulsory measures beforehand, and of cause we did not think about “good PR” accompaniment. But Saakashvili and his masters from abroad prepared well for the PR maintenance in advance.

In his direct address to the Georgian people Mr. Saakashvili likes to speak about triumph of the American values in Georgia, to name the USA as the main friend of Tbilisi and prefer to do it in English. I cannot imagine the Russian president address to the Russian citizens in English (or the French president not in French, etc.). Maybe the American English is already the ruling language of “the independent Georgia”?
During the first hours of Saakashvili’s blitzkrieg it was no information in worldwide media about the attack on South Ossetia. Then Saakashvili publicly declared “an operation for constitution order” and “liberation” of the capital of South Ossetia – Tskhinvali (Mr. Saakashvili prefers to do his martial and anti-Russian declarations against the background of the EU flag!?). At that time the Russian authorities and the Russian media already spoke about the brutal aggression, thousand victims among civilians and peacekeepers. But almost nobody in the West heard us.

The situation changed in an hour, just after appearing Russian tanks near South Ossetia. Mr. Saakashvili started hysterically crying about the “Russian occupation”. Then Georgian TV spoke about a fantastic amount of Russian aircrafts and tanks destroyed by the Georgian army and about “great loses” among Georgian civilians, about the Russian “attempt to occupy Tbilisi”, etc. What can I say? If one mixes a few true facts with tons of lie it may look like truth. This trick is well known for PR professionals. Georgian authorities use this trick daily.

In Russia everybody may see all TV channels (Russian and foreign), in Georgia Russian channels are illegal.

Most of my compatriots disturb: Why do Americans and British worldwide TV stations prefer to show only victims and ruins out of South Ossetia? Maybe it was also part of the PR games against Russia?
 
At the end – about the “isolation of Russia” and modern Russophobes. The “Russian isolation” is one of the favorite dreams of all Russophobes and politicians who are still sad about the end of the Cold War. Some of them were in Tbilisi, together with Mr. Saakashvili just after his operation against ethnic minorities. Leaders of Ukraine and Baltic states were among them too. Maybe they also need Georgian experience of fighting with “Russian speaking minorities” in their countries? For this purpose they really need Russian isolation and worldwide anti-Russian hysteria.

Maybe the Cold War style rhetoric is necessary for American election campaign? Maybe it is a good reason for some Polish politicians to justify American missiles there?  But let us go to the reality.

It is not possible to isolate Russia, as it is not possible to isolate China, or India, or the USA, etc. Such countries are too big, strong and important.

Is it really possible to protect the distribution of military weapons and technologies without Russia? Or is it possible to have a stable energy market without cooperation with Russia? How is it possible to protect environment, fighting with terrorism or international criminals without Russia? What do you think about the way of Russian democracy after realization of such rash plans of the “isolation”? How to solve international problems without Russia in most parts of Europe and Asia? And so on.

Finally, if you and your colleagues really want to make decisions on the base of correct information you have to meet not only with the Georgian authorities, but also with people from Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

With best regards
Andrey KLIMOV,
Vice-chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma,
Co-chair of the Russia-EU
Parliamentary Cooperation Committee,
Moscow 25/08/08