Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TBILISI1731
2007-07-20 12:02:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tbilisi
Cable title:  

DAVID BAKRADZE TO BE NEW STATE MINISTER FOR

Tags:  PGOV PINR PREL GG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8235
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHSI #1731/01 2011202
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 201202Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7072
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 001731 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR DAS BRYZA AND EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2017
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL GG
SUBJECT: DAVID BAKRADZE TO BE NEW STATE MINISTER FOR
CONFLICT RESOLUTION

REF: TBILISI 1702

Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for reasons 1.4(b)&(d).

Summary
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 001731

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR DAS BRYZA AND EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2017
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL GG
SUBJECT: DAVID BAKRADZE TO BE NEW STATE MINISTER FOR
CONFLICT RESOLUTION

REF: TBILISI 1702

Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for reasons 1.4(b)&(d).

Summary
--------------

1. (C) Officials in the State Ministry for Conflict
Resolution have confirmed to us that Minister Merab Antadze
is departing his post to return to the MFA, and he will be
replaced by David Bakradze, currently Chairman of the
Parliamentary Committee on European Integration. Bakradze is
a young, talented Saakashvili insider; the Embassy has worked
well with him in the past. On other issues, State Ministry
for Conflict Resolution officials believe we may finally be
nearing the end of the convoluted water crisis in South
Ossetia, but they do not believe an acceptable mechanism has
yet been created to resume (or as the would prefer it, to
replace) the Quadripartite Meetings (QPMs) on the security
situation in Abkhazia. End Summary.

A New Occupant in the Hot Seat
--------------

2. (C) In a meeting at the State Ministry for Conflict
Resolution July 19, Deputy State Minister for Conflict
Resolution Ruslan Abashidze confided to us that his boss,
Minister Antadze, would be returning to a position in the
MFA, and would be replaced by prominent MP David Bakradze.
Dimitri Manjavidze, the other Deputy State Minister for
Conflict Resolution, seemed to second this in a chance
encounter in the hall following the meeting, laughingly
saying that he and Abashidze had apparently come to the end
of their assignments. (Note: It appeared that this news had
only recently reached the State Ministry, and it is possible
that Manjavidze and Abashidze do not yet know if they will
stay on. End Note.) Media outlets picked up the story
shortly thereafter.

Who is David Bakradze?
--------------

3. (C) A fluent English speaker, Bakradze is an authority on
NATO accession, the European Neighborhood Policy action plan,
Russian base withdrawal, and Council of Europe commitments.
He is considered one of the most active and influential
pro-government leaders in Parliament, and has often traveled
with leading MPs such as Giga Bokeria and Nika Rurua on trips

to the U.S. In our dealings with him, he has been
straightforward, honest, and very responsive.


4. (C) On conflict issues, Bakradze has a reputation as a
voice of moderation. He was one of the key figures
responsible for toning down a July 18, 2006 Parliamentary
resolution calling on the government to withdraw the Russian
peacekeepers from South Ossetia and Abkhazia, helping ensure
it was not too radical. When Speaker Burjanadze has briefed
the diplomatic corps on the creation of the temporary
administrative unit in South Ossetia and other issues related
to the conflicts, Bakradze has typically taken the lead in
the closed-door portion of the discussion. Bakradze
accompanied the head of the temporary administrative unit,
Dmitry Sanakoyev, on his recent visit to Brussels.


5. (U) Bio of David Bakradze:

DOB: July 1, 1972
Marital Status: Married with one child
Languages: Georgian, English, and Russian

Professional Experience:

-- Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European
Integration; since April 2004

-- various positions at the National Security Council,
including Head of Security Office, Head of Foreign Political,
Security, and Conflicts Department, and Head of Political
Security Department, 2002-2004

-- various positions at the MFA, including Deputy, then Head
of the Armament-Disarmament Control Office, and Deputy
Director of the Military-Political Department, 1997-1998,
2000-2002

-- Lab Assistant, Georgian Technical University, 1991-1992

Education:

-- PhD in Physics and Mathematics

-- Post-graduate studies, Department of General Physics,
Technical University of Georgia, 1994-1998

TBILISI 00001731 002 OF 002



-- Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Master of Public
Administration, 1996

-- Georgian Technical University, Department of Physics and
Engineering, Engineer of Electronic Equipment, 1994

A Light at the End of the Water Pipeline?
--------------

6. (SBU) On other topics, Abashidze said a joint team of
engineers had inspected the South Ossetian water pipeline
July 17 (reftel),and found problems in both the Ossetian and
Georgian areas. At Andisi, the northernmost point that the
South Ossetians permitted to be inspected, the pipe was only
half-full, suggesting problems in the separatist-controlled
north near Java. At the same time, however, the team found
approximately 15 holes in the pipe near Sveri, in the
Georgian enclave. Inspectors also confirmed that an
irrigation canal near Ossetian-controlled Tbeti had been
blocked, preventing water from reaching the Georgian village
of Nikozi and surrounding areas. Abashidze said the
Georgians wanted to follow through on agreements to allow
engineers to repair the problems without politicizing them,
and he expressed frustration that Joint Peacekeeping Force
(JPFK) commander Kulakhmetov had issued a public statement
about the holes in the pipe.


7. (SBU) Manjavidze subsequently informed us of a
just-completed agreement to start repairs of the water pipe
and the irrigation canal on July 20, with each side's workers
observed by the other side and the OSCE, without the presence
of the JPKF. He expressed hope that this was the beginning
of the end of the long-running water controversy.


8. (SBU) Abashidze also showed us a huge stack of envelopes
that he intended to deliver to the de facto authorities --
invitations to individuals in Tskhinvali, including South
Ossetian negotiator Chochiev and other de facto officials, to
take part in consultations on the details of autonomy for
South Ossetia.

Problems Remain with Gali Meetings
--------------

9. (C) Abashidze said that the Georgians were not happy with
the draft terms of reference for the resumption of QPMs in
the Gali district of Abkhazia, stressing that the terms would
keep the CIS peacekeepers in a dominant position in the
talks. He said the Georgian side was eager to resume
meetings on the security situation in Gali, but Georgia
wanted it to be an essentially bilateral format between the
Georgians and the Abkhaz, not a repeat of the old four-sided
mechanism. He said the CIS peacekeepers could still have a
role, but it would be more in the nature of an expert on
security matters, rather than as an equal (or leading) party
on political topics.

Comment
--------------

10. (C) David Bakradze shares the biography and qualities
typical of the post-Rose Revolution leadership in Georgia:
bright, multilingual, and hard-working, he first gained
attention in the late Shevardnadze period (like Saakashvili
himself) and then made himself a trusted insider in a new
government of young men in a hurry to transform Georgia into
a modern, democratic state. He should bring real political
muscle in Tbilisi and an infusion of energy to the conflict
resolution process.

TEFFT