PEACEKEEPING ACCIDENT SPURS DISPUTE OVER MOSCOW

C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 002170 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR DAS BRYZA AND EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL GG SUBJECT: PEACEKEEPING ACCIDENT SPURS DISPUTE OVER MOSCOW AGREEMENT Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT. REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On August 28, a CIS Peacekeeping Force (PKF) contingent collided with a civilian minibus in the Georgian city of Khobi. According to the UN, Georgian police responded and detained 14 CIS PKF, 6 of whom the Georgians claimed were Chechens armed with silencers. The Georgian police took the PKF to the local police station and after a period of detention, released them later that night. The Georgians claim that the PKF violated the Moscow Agreement by traveling into the Restricted Weapons Zone (RWZ) without prior agreement by the Georgians; the Russians deny this although the Office of the Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution claims that it received a hand-written note from the PKF Chief of Staff which apologized for the violation and promised to inform of such movements in future. The UN is reviewing whether a violation took place with regard to the movement of the PKF. End summary. ¶2. (C) At approximately 4:00 p.m. on August 28, a CIS Peacekeeping Force GAZ-66 truck collided with a civilian minibus in the Georgian city of Khobi. (Note: Khobi is on the southern edge of the Georgian side of the Restricted Weapons Zone. End note.) Georgian police responded and found 14 PKF in the truck, 6 of whom they claimed were Chechens armed with silencers. The Georgians took the peacekeepers to the local police station and detained them until around 1200 a.m., at which time the Georgians released the detainees. When asked by the UN for the reason of the detention, the Georgians said that the detention was a result of the suspicion aroused by the peacekeepers origin and armaments. According to the Georgians, the Chechens could not answer even basic questions about the mandate of the PKF. The UN was unable to verify these allegations or press reports that the peacekeepers were inebriated because the Georgians did not allow UN personnel access to the detainees. ¶3. (C) Ruslan Abashidze, the Deputy Minister for Conflict Resolution, reported to Poloff on August 30 that the PKF Chief of Staff sent a hand-written note on plain paper to Minister Bakradze which apologized for the violation and promised to inform the Georgian authorities of such movements in future. Abashidze claimed that the movements of the PKF were a violation of Article 2 of the Moscow Agreement. (Note: Article 2 (f) of the Moscow Agreement requires that "the movement of units or subunits of the peace-keeping force and of the international observers outside the security zone in the relevant areas shall be subject to agreement with the parties." Separately, the UN told Poloff that the UN is reviewing whether or not a violation took place with regard to the movement of the PKF. UNOMIG quoted the Protocol to the Moscow Agreement which states that the PKF "shall enjoy freedom of movement in the security zone and the restricted-weapons zone..." which indicated some area for interpretation. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: As we have seen regarding issues related to Upper Kodori, the Moscow Agreement is unclear and open to interpretation. Tensions in Georgia with regard to its relations with Russia are heightened following the August 6 missile incident. Accidents like these have the potential to spiral out of control. We will urge the UN to work with both sides to agree on a common interpretation of the Moscow Agreement to prevent future such incidents. END COMMENT. TEFFT