Georgian political analysts dispute about link of OSCE's statement on Russia with Biden's sanctions

Twelve OSCE countries have demanded from Russia to fulfil the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which has found Russia involved in human rights violations committed in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. However, despite its interest in fulfilling the ECtHR's decision on the 2008 war, Georgia, will refrain from imposing sanctions against Russia, Georgian political analysts believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 21, the ECtHR found that Russia had been involved in human rights violations in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but was not responsible for the August 2008 hostilities.

On April 15, Bulgaria, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Finland, Czech Republic, Sweden and Estonia made a joint statement at the sitting of the OSCE's Permanent Council in Vienna, in which they called on Moscow to fulfil the decision of the ECtHR of January 21, regarding Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the "Georgia-Online" reported on April 16.

Tornike Sharashenidze, a political analyst, believes that this decision was made in order to support the sanctions imposed by the US President, Joe Biden, against Russia. "Given the fact that Romania and the Baltic states are involved, we can assume that the above countries timed their statement to the sanctions introduced by the USA," Mr Sharashenidze told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Kakha Gogolashvili, a researcher at the Rondeli Centre for Strategic and International Studies, has suggested that the countries' statement has just coincided with the US sanctions in time. The meeting of the OSCE's Permanent Council was scheduled several months before Joe Biden's sanctions, Mr Gogolashvili told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

European countries, including those who have signed the demand against Russia, can join the sanctions imposed by Joe Biden, but Georgia itself will not join them, said Soso Tsiskarishvili, a political analyst and a former Rector of the Georgian Diplomatic Academy.

"I exclude Georgia in advance – we are not in the position to join these sanctions ... there are Russia's military bases just 40 kilometres away from Georgia," he said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 17, 2021 at 10:05 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.