Floating Support

Clinton gifted Georgia with a cutter ship and new statements about a “Russian occupation.”

Hillary Clinton’s visit to Georgia was received with happiness by both the authorities and opposition members. The State Department chief once again touched on the Russian “occupation” of some Georgian territories and gave even more military technology presents for Tblisi. Saakashvilli and the Georgian opposition both liked Clinton’s statements.

Local authorities and opposition members eagerly anticipated the Georgia-U.S. meeting in Batumi on strategic partnership, which was based on a 2009 charter agreement on the topic. The former wanted to hear the next in a successive line of statements in support of its reforms and Georgian territorial integrity in spite of Russia. The latter hoped that Clinton, representing the U.S. at this meeting, would frankly and openly talk about problems with Georgian democracy, which are increasingly important in the face of the October parliamentary elections and the 2013 presidential election. Both sides were satisfied after the meeting.

The secretary of state did not arrive in Batumi empty-handed. A thoroughly modernized, U.S.-technology equipped patrol cutter — worth over $1.2 million — was given to Georgia as a sign of friendship. Last year the U.S. stated that it planned to spend $10 million in order to help the border police. In this way, a continuation of “floating support” for Georgia can be expected.

Clinton confirmed this by stating the U.S. will do everything possible to “help the Georgian Coast Guard become a sustainable, self-sufficient service capable of patrolling and protecting its territorial waters. Our objective is to achieve security at the Black Sea and protection of borders at sea, as well as at land. Along with more effective border security on land, it will help crack down on the illicit flow of narcotics, human trafficking and potential weapons of mass destruction. That’s vitally important for Georgia, the region and the world.”

American military aid to Georgia is not intended as an endorsement of the current Georgian administration. Georgia became an important actor in regional cooperation efforts during the reign of ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze, who first established diplomatic relations between Georgia and the U.S. in March 1992. Today, there is a special working group on defense and security established by the 2009 Charter on Strategic Cooperation. During both the Shevardnadze and Saakashvili regimes, the U.S. has trained Georgian peacekeepers who have gone on to serve in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. In this year, the number of Georgian soldiers in Afghanistan will increase from 750 to 925. Georgia will become the most-represented non-NATO country in Afghanistan.

Since the time of Shevardnadze, the U.S. has spent tens of millions of dollars on strengthening Georgia’s military capability, generously modernizing or outright transferring military technologies for Georgia. During the Shevardnadze era there was the “helicopter contract,” in which the U.S. gifted Georgia with six secondhand Iroquois helicopters and trained the pilots. There were other such policies, but not all were successful. For example, a planned upgrade of the Georgian army from AKs to American carbines was not successful. As the 2008 conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia began, these rifles and several Hummers outfitted with special communication devices became trophies of the Russian army. Georgian warships in Poti were blown up; this is the main reason why the Americans are now helping the Georgians rebuild their naval strength.

After this conflict, Western partners were considerably more cautious in aiding Georgia. In January, during one of Saakashvili’s visits to the U.S., Georgia begged to be included in a missile shield and anti-tank defense program. What became of this request is unknown.

The secretary of state’s usage of the word “occupation” to describe Russia’s actions in 2008 was another positive signal for the Georgian government. Clinton vocally supported Georgia’s territorial integrity and repeatedly called on Russia to fulfill the ceasefire enacted in August 2008. “This signal was specially intended for Moscow and is especially important,” said Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Grigol Vashadze. “Clinton constantly used the word ‘occupation.’” The Georgian government considers this an incredibly positive step, since it made Russia appear to the rest of the world as an “occupier.” In this vein, Clinton used the press conference to underscore the U.S. government’s readiness to provide Abkhazians and South Ossetians in this country access to “neutral documents” as a way of stimulating a thaw in relations between both sides and creating a more comfortable negotiating process. Sukhumi in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali in South Ossetia do not recognize these documents.

In Batum, Saakashvili met Clinton in the House of Justice and showed her how he works: A few memoranda done quickly, with no wait, according to the principle of “one window.” But these are only down payments. Georgia is creating a special agency for exporting these reforms, and the U.S. can the play the role of advisor. At a press conference about the details of the talks, Saakashvili thanked Obama and Clinton for their “fundamental support for Georgia’s sovereignty.” He said, “This is especially important during an occupation.” He promised to hold “free and fair elections” in October and thanked Clinton for her readiness to send observers.

Georgian opposition members appeared no less inspired, although there was no meeting between Clinton and the leader of the “Georgian Dream” coalition, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. As reported on Tuesday by press secretary Maya Pandzhikidze, the “Georgian Dream” coalition is represented by Manana Kobakhidze and the Republican David Usupashvili, and also one of the leaders of the “Free Democrats,” Teya Tsulukiani. The billionaire, as a foreign citizen, is barred from political office. Also at the meeting were opposition figures David Gamkrelidze, “New Rights,” and Georgi Targamadze, “KhDD.” David Usupashvili spoke about the negotiating process and said that Clinton fully understands the situation. “Clinton grasps all our problems,” he said, “including the freedom of judicial bodies and freedom of the press and more.”

David Usupashvili told the television company Maestro that “Clinton also understands the pressure placed on political activists. She said that the U.S. consulate will work on these problems.” According to him, the U.S. promised to send long-term observers to monitor the parliamentary elections in October. Earlier, at the opening of a commission Clinton remarked that the parliamentary elections this year and presidential elections next year will be an “opportunity for Georgia to deepen its democracy and the legitimacy of its democratic institutions.”

“We call upon the leaders of Georgia to hold competitive pre-election campaigns, so that the actual elections and situation before them are free and fair,” said Clinton. She also noted as a positive the creation of an interdepartmental governmental group for reviewing complaints about the election process.

According to Clinton, after the elections Georgia should continue reforms designed to bring about a free judicial system, access to free media and an improvement of labor laws. In the days leading up to Clinton’s visit, the U.S. ambassador to Georgia, John Bass, stated that his country “regretted the spread of information about aggression against political opposition members” in Georgia.

Whether Georgia will actually heed America’s recommendations is an open question. They weren’t exactly the words the Georgian government was hoping to hear. “The fate of Georgia shouldn’t be decided in America; we’ll listen to their words, but the last word lies with the Georgian nation,” said one of the leaders of the “United National Movement,” deputy Akaki Bobokhidze.

“Once again, after the 2008 war, Saakashvili has turned his back on the West when he entered a no visa policy with Iran,” said political analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze of Vzglyad newspaper. “That is, the West already knows that Saakashvili will behave this way. But will Saakashvili achieve something with such a strategy? It’s doubtful. Georgian political elites have already amassed large fortunes in Western bank accounts. Their ownership of these assets might come under question if Saakashvili plays such games with the West, not listening to their signals. That they are listening is obvious, and this is shown by the changes to the constitution in order to allow Bidzina Ivanishvili into the elections.”