GEORGIA: SAAKASHVILI EXPRESSES CONCERN TO DAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TBILISI 001765

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2019
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL BR RU AM AZ GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: SAAKASHVILI EXPRESSES CONCERN TO DAS
KAIDANOW ABOUT FUTURE RECOGNITIONS; DEFENDS NEW MOD

REF: TBILISI 1739

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES A.I. KENT LOGSDON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B)
AND (D).


1. (C) Summary. During her September 15 introductory call
on President Saakashvili, EUR DAS Tina Kaidanow urged him to
make progress on democratic reforms as a way to increase
support for Georgia within the international community and
shore up domestic stability, echoing earlier comments from VP
Biden. Saakashvili expressed concern about Venezuela's
recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the likelihood
of additional countries joining the chorus. DAS Kaidanow
reiterated U.S. commitments supporting Georgia's territorial
integrity. DAS Kaidanow also raised deep U.S. and
international concerns about the potential danger and
legality of Georgian seizures of ships in the Black Sea
illegally trading with Abkhazia. She also expressed concern
about the recent appointment of a new minister of defense in
Georgia, Bacho Akhalaia, with a particularly bad human rights
reputation; in response, President Saakashvili urged the U.S.
to give Akhalaia a chance to prove his commitment to reform.
End Summary.

RECOGNITION: VENEZUELA AND BELARUS


2. (C) A relaxed President Saakashvili, well-briefed on DAS
Kaidanow's Tbilisi meetings the day prior (reported septel),
was accompanied at this meeting by Amcit Advisor Daniel
Kunin; DAS Kaidanow was accompanied by the Charge, EUR/CARC
conflicts advisor Birner and A/DCM Fisher (notetaker).
Saakashvili began by expressing concern that Venezuela's
decision to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia would lead to further recognitions, noting his belief
that Belarus was on the verge of making its own decision
regarding recognition and saying he hoped the West would act
quickly to prevent this step. He claimed that Lukashenko
"hates Vladimir Putin," which is why he refused to ban
Georgian imports in 2006. Nevertheless, Belarus was under
enormous economic pressure from Russia and would not be able
to hold out much longer. DAS Kaidanow told Saakashvili that
Belarus is an inconsistent and unpredictable interlocutor,
but promised that the United States would do what it could to
discourage recognitions generally and would confer with the
Europeans specifically on the question of Belarus. She urged
that any recognitions be met with a restrained response, and
noted that EUR A/S Gordon had been clear in public remarks
that Venezuelan recognition was not a significant threat to
Georgian sovereignty.


3. (C) Saakashvili appeared less concerned about the
possibility of recognition from African countries, but told
DAS Kaidanow that if Belarus moved forward with recognition,
Georgia would be unable to work with Belarus in the context
of the newly created EU "Eastern Partnership Initiative"
(reftel). If the EU did not expel Belarus from the Eastern
Partnership, then Georgia would have to withdraw. DAS
Kaidanow urged Saakashvili to coordinate closely with the EU
and not to take hasty action that could counterproductively
damage Georgia,s relations with the European Union.

THE CHALLENGES OF THE CONFLICT ZONES


4. (C) Saakashvili told DAS Kaidanow that he hoped the
United States would not view the conflicts as permanently
frozen; the situation, he said, would continue to be in flux.
The explosion in Zugdidi on September 14 was evidence of
ongoing instability. To illustrate the type of pressure he
Qongoing instability. To illustrate the type of pressure he
believed the Russians were willing to exert, Saakashvili told
DAS Kaidanow about what he considered to be a revealing
conversation he had with then-Russian President Putin in
February of 2008. According to Saakashvili, Putin had told
him to "prepare himself" because it was clear that the West
intended to recognize Kosovo. Putin suggested that if
Georgia, at that time, were willing to forego NATO
aspirations, perhaps Russia would not recognize Abkhazia and
South Ossetia. Saakashvili maintained that Putin has ongoing
challenges in the rest of the former Soviet Union due to
Russia's tension with Georgia, and specifically mentioned
increased Russian presence in Turkmenistan in recent months.
He said, "Russia wants to surround us on all sides."


5. (C) DAS Kaidanow asked President Saakashvili for his
views on how the United States and Georgia could implement
concrete programs to re-engage people across the
administrative boundary lines (ABL). Saakashvili urged a
nuanced approach, saying he believed that permanent contact
with the leadership in Sukhumi was important, but
people-to-people contacts needed to be crafted so that they
did not confer any elements of statehood on the de facto

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authorities. He claimed that in the past, he had blocked
arrest warrants which some in the Georgian government had
wanted issued against the de facto leaders, and said he was
willing to do whatever he could to reach out. DAS Kaidanow
told Saakashvili that the United States wanted to be
consonant with Georgia in its approach to re-starting any
U.S. assistance across the ABL, but pointed out that the
Georgian government would have to address seriously some
important issues, like that of permitting travel for Abkhaz
residents on Russian passports. Saakashvili noted that he
was unimpressed by EU ideas for opening an office in Sukhumi
- such an action would send exactly the wrong signal and
appear just like an embassy.


6. (C) Saakashvili expressed appreciation for U.S. support
on a recent UN General Assembly resolution. DAS Kaidanow
noted that Georgian flexibility on the language had been the
key to its success.


7. (C) DAS Kaidanow raised the issue of Georgian ship
seizures in the Black Sea, telling President Saakashvili that
the United States saw the issues as a matter of serious
political concern, even more than a legal issue (though she
noted concerns on this score as well),and cautioned that
such actions could easily escalate into something far more
serious. Saakashvili avoided a commitment to stop the
seizures entirely, but said that Georgia has been working
closely with Turkey to prevent future sailings which violated
Georgia's law and noted recent Russian statements which
constantly painted Georgia as the provocateur. Saakashvili
tacitly acknowledged the danger of escalation, saying "We
would be crazy to get into such a confrontation."

REGIONAL CONCERNS


8. (C) Saakashvili told DAS Kaidanow that he viewed
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation as a positive step and hoped
that recent developments would encourage Armenia to move
beyond Russia's sphere of influence. He said he expected
short term fears to emerge from Azerbaijan but that the
Azeris would be able to view improved relations as progress
in the long term. DAS Kaidanow agreed that the opening of
Turkish-Armenian relations could have a positive effect
throughout the South Caucasus, particularly on the economic
development of the region.

DEMOCRATIC REFORMS: CRITICAL TO GEORGIA,S SUCCESS


9. (C) DAS Kaidanow told President Saakashvili that she had
met with board members from the American Chamber of Commerce
during her Tbilisi visit and they had agreed that the primary
obstacle to further economic development was not the threat
of Russia,s military presence, but a lack of progress on
rule of law issues and concerns about domestic political
stability in Georgia. She noted that the business community
had specifically referenced the direct influence of the
government in the judiciary as a hindrance to good government
and rule of law. Saakashvili replied that Georgia's
judiciary was less corrupt than others in the neighborhood,
including Turkey's. He described Georgia's reform efforts as
a "process." He said that Georgia has young, ambitious
judges who are paid well, but they need further education and
more exposure to the West in order to improve judicial
independence. He noted that there was no longer any
presidential involvement in the judicial appointment process.



10. (C) DAS Kaidanow asked how the United States could help
empower Georgia's media. Saakashvili said that the
Qempower Georgia's media. Saakashvili said that the
fundamental problem is that journalists do not speak English
and therefore were highly limited in their ability to
research. He said Georgian journalists fundamentally
misunderstood the role of a free press but he hoped further
exposure to the West could help remedy this problem. He
noted that during the protests the opposition had threatened
journalists, and he reiterated previous requests for a
USG-supported nationwide program of English language
training.

NEW MINISTER OF DEFENSE


11. (C) DAS Kaidanow expressed concern about the recent
selection of Bacho Akhalia as Defense Minister, noting his
poor human rights record. Saakashvili immediately said he
did not understand international criticism of his ministerial
pick; as head of the prison department, Akhalaia had been
responsible for tackling the mafia in Georgia, and as a
result, Georgia had had more success in fighting organized
crime than any other country of the former Soviet Union.
Saakashvili went on to argue that former Defense Minister

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Sikharulidze had not made real progress on reform, that he
had been a better diplomat than minister, and that he as
President was obligated to hold Sikharulidze responsible for
the attempted Mukhrovani coup attempt. Saakashvili urged DAS
Kaidanow and other officials to keep an open mind regarding
Akhalaia's appointment and he invited DAS Kaidanow to provide
an assessment of his performance. DAS Kaidanow urged
President Saakashvili to understand how this appointment had
impacted on Georgia,s international reputation, and
emphasized the importance of avoiding such actions in future.


12. (U) DAS Kaidanow has cleared this cable.


LOGSDON