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