Russian-georgian Relations Becoming Warm

[MartyRoss]

Russian-Georgian relations become strained and warm time to time very unexpectedly. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin particularly stated that he is ready to render support in money and electrical power totaling USD 1bln to Georgia. Newly elected president of Georgia Mikhail Sahakashvili was not slow in answering to this gesture stating that he will pay one of his first official visits, if not the first, to Moscow and that he can’t imagine that Georgia can be prosperous and developed without friendly relations with Russia.

 

It is worth pointing out that the aforementioned step made by Putin may be regarded as staking his all as after the Georgian revolution European structures and the United States also sounded promises like this. Still, the size of amounts promised by them is significantly less than the amount pointed out by the president of Russia, but we should review one more circumstance: Putin promised not only money but electrical power as well. Georgia, of course, will not refuse to accept the support. The risky character of Putin’s step becomes obvious if to note that providing amounts of that kind is simply generosity for Russia’s State Budget. What Putin promised to do is aimed at only one goal – to prove the forces and states that promised to render money support to the official Tbilisi that Georgia, despite its west-oriented position, is under Russia’s political and financial patronage.

 

But this issue cannot be regarded as closed with this because unlike Russia, Europe and the United States have larger resources as far as the issue of rendering support to Georgia is concerned. What we can do is to wait and watch the march of events in the framework of this competition.

 

 

Analysis by Manouk Sukiasyan

Edited January 20, 2004 by MartyRoss