Nezavisimaya Gazeta
September 1, 2009
Backed by Russia, Abkhazia promises to seize Georgian ships
Author: Yuri Simonjan
RUSSIA MIGHT FIND ITSELF DRAGGED INTO A CONFLICT BETWEEN
TBILISI AND SUKHUMI AGAIN
Backed by Russia, Abkhazia is prepared to challenge Georgia in the
Black Sea. “They leave us no choice. We will seize Georgian
ships,” Abkhazian Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba said. Georgia had
seized and arrested several ships on the run to and from Abkhazia
last month.
Tbilisi in its turn only emphasized the resolve to board and
detain all vessels entering territorial waters of Georgia,
including the Abkhazian part, without permit.
Sukhumi turned to Moscow and immediately obtained its promise
of assistance. Ships navigating territorial waters of Abkhazia
will be protected by Russian and Abkhazians border guards. “All
attention was focused on the Abkhazian-Georgian land border. The
situation at sea requires attention too,” Shamba announced.
The Georgian Coast Guard detained 23 ships for “violation of
the entry regulations” this year and nearly 70 over the last four
years. The ships are almost always Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian,
and Greek.
“Seizing ships in neutral waters, Georgia commits acts of
piracy. Our appeals to the UN and EU remain unanswered which only
encourages Georgia. Tbilisi must have forgotten that Georgian
ships pass us by on the way to Ukrainian, Bulgaria, and Greece and
that we can respond in kind,” Shamba said.
The minister said that the situation had been more or less
tolerable until US Vice President Josef Biden’s visit to Georgia
this spring. “The Georgian authorities must have been given
assurances of some sort,” Shamba assumed. He announced that
Georgia’s actions constitute a violation of the settlement
agreement reached with the European Union’s help.
Official Tbilisi pays no heed to Sukhumi’s protestations. It
maintains that sailing into Abkhazian ports without authorization
from the central government of Georgia is a violation that will
not be tolerated.
Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister David Dzhalagania said at
the press conference this Monday that participation of Russia
would be a height of cynicism. He added that Russia had already
assaulted Georgia once.
“Russia’s attempts to protect trespassers in the Georgian
territorial waters will be appraised and treated as piracy.
Freight traffic to Abkhazia without Tbilisi’s permit is a gross
violation of the Georgian legislation,” State Minister for
Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili said.
Military expert Irakly Sesiashvili said that Tbilisi was
trying to bite more than it could possibly chew. Attempts to
prevent Russian ships from entering the local waters will lead to
a dangerous confrontation or Georgia will have to cry uncle.
Sesiashvili said the international community alone could settle
the issue.