GEORGIA: RUSSIAN FORCES RE-ENTER PEREVI

C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 002413

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: RUSSIAN FORCES RE-ENTER PEREVI

REF: TBILISI 02111

Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary and Comment. Russian forces once again
control the checkpoint at Perevi. After dismantling the
checkpoint and withdrawing on December 11, Russian spetsnaz
forces returned on December 13 after Georgian Ministry of
Internal Police (MOIA) police, and later MOIA special forces,
moved in to man the checkpoint. The arrival of these special
forces, whom the Russians claimed they believed to be
military or considered essentially military, in numbers far
greater than the Russians found acceptable, is what the
Russians claim brought them back. However, the Georgians
claimed that they notified the Russians directly, as well as
the EUMM, of the exact composition of their forces going back
into Perevi well in advance. The OSCE reported that they
were also involved in ongoing negotiations to facilitate a
Russian withdrawal and Georgian return, prior to the initial
Russian departure. Therefore, the arrival of MOIA special
forces should not have been a surprise to the Russians. The
Russian reaction seems to be a well planned demonstration of
their power and a message to the Georgians that the Russians
are in control. Access to Perevi by international
organizations is again restricted, and a delegation of EU
ambassadors was denied access on December 13. End Summary
and Comment.


2. (C) On December 11, Russian forces began dismantling the
Perevi checkpoint and left Perevi that evening. At the time,
Russian commanders seemed open to OSCE-brokered discussions
with the Georgian Interior Ministry about handing over
control of the checkpoint. According to the OSCE, Georgian
and Russian forces agreed before the Russian withdrawal that
Georgian Interior Ministry criminal police, in small numbers,
would re-enter Perevi after the Russians left. According to
Speaker of Parliament David Bakradze, the Georgians notified
the Russians and the EUMM well in advance of the exact
composition of their forces going into Perevi after the
initial withdrawal. The first Georgian forces to arrive in
Perevi on December 12 were indeed criminal police, but early
on December 13, an additional 50-60 Interior Ministry special
forces arrived in unmarked vehicles, for an estimated total
of 90-100 Georgian police. Russian forces claimed to the
OSCE that the Georgians had sent in 500 troops, including
military forces. The Russians then sent their own forces
back into Perevi. They did not, however, return with the
same soldiers that were there previously; instead they sent
in the spetsnaz.


3. (C) The OSCE noted that all the Georgian forces were in
fact from the Interior Ministry, not the military, but
commented that the unmarked vehicles and weapons could have
made it difficult to make the distinction. Estimates vary on
the number of Russian troops now in Perevi; one OSCE report
mentioned 100; the EUMM reported 300, including paratroopers;
and the press cited an Interior Ministry figure of 500. For
several hours during the day on December 13, Georgian and
Russian forces each had a presence in Perevi, within a few
hundred yards of each other. Georgian forces eventually
withdrew, so that by the evening of December 13, the location
of the two sides was essentially the same as it had been
before the Russian withdrawal (although the number of forces
may have changed): Russian forces staffed a checkpoint just
south of the village of Perevi, and Georgian forces were in a
Qsouth of the village of Perevi, and Georgian forces were in a
checkpoint south of that.


4. (C) EUMM and OSCE report that access to Perevi is again
restricted; neither has been able to pass the Russian
checkpoint since it was re-established, and international
organizations will again apparently need to clear any visits
to Perevi in advance. A delegation of EU ambassadors, led by
French Ambassador Eric Fournier, was refused access to Perevi
on December 13. The press reported that on the evening of
December 14, 50 Russian tanks entered the area, however, OSCE
could not confirm this report and was skeptical of it. Press
reports also indicate that villagers, primarily women and
children, left the village, but the EUMM reports that a local
teacher said on December 15 that the situation in the village
was calm and school was in session. However, UNHCR did enter
Perevi on December 16 and recorded that between December 13
and 16, a total of 57 families, out of a population of
approximately 300 families, had left the village, reportedly
due to a general felling of insecurity. They also noted that
the number of children attending school had decreased from
130 persons last week to 100 persons this week.
TEFFT