Click here to View - Griffith College Dublin

internationalBringing Down the Walls.By Lidia OkorokovaThe land border between Georgia andRussia after being closed for four years isto be open on the 1st of March 2010.A decision to open the border was made afterMoscow thought that the situation between thestates may improve.Several checkpoints are to be opened soon;among them are the Upper Lars and the VerkhnyLars-Kazbegi.Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said onFebruary the 25 th that a frequent air service maybegin soon. A privately owned company, GeorgianAirways, seeks to start charter flights betweenMoscow and Tbilisi. The company has inquired tothe Russian government to lift restrictions off theflights between the two capitals, yet there was nocertain answer on when the flights may begin.Moscow and Tbilisi have had tension betweenone another for far too long now.It all began back in 2003, when the “Rose Revolution”in Georgia put Mr. Mikheil Saakashviliinto power. This was the first step in breaking upthe diplomatic ties between Moscow and Tbilisi.Moscow had viewed Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili as “animposter from the West”.Over the course of three years in power, MisterSaakashvili had managed to stir up the instabilityin the breakaway regions of Adjara and Abkhazia.He also had the Russian Ambassador withdrawnfrom Georgia after the embassy’s diplomats wereannounced “persona non-grata” (people who arenot welcome) by Tbilisi’s officials.Moreover, Moscow closed the border betweenthe two countries in 2006, which put major restrictionson trade and travel for Georgian citizens.Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov arguedthat “we have never stopped contacts betweenmen of arts and culture, between clergymen. Wehave no doubts the centuries-long ties betweenthe Russian and Georgian peoples are strongenough to outlive any political moths blown intothis land by foreign winds” he told Itar-Tass.Georgia has provided the Russian market notonly with with the finest wines and fruits, flowersand food, but also with the well-celebrated actors,singers, TV presenters and sculptors. TamaraGverdcitelli - a pop-singer who sang on the RedSquare at the 60 th anniversary of the Victory Dayin front of presidents and other guests of honourand Zurab Tseretelli – famous Georgian sculptor,whose works can be seen in Moscow, Tbilisi andNew York, Paris and Seville are both Georgiannatives. Russian modern culture is nothing withoutthese names, as it has been for centuries.The thaw in the relations between Moscow andTbilisi began after the military conflict of 2008.The South Ossetia region was thought to beinvaded by the Russian troops in august 2008,but later the international community discoveredthat the invasion was a set up by Tbilisi in order todestabilise the situation in the Caucuses.The so-called “war” between Russia and Georgiahas caused international human rights groups andthe UN intervention into the diplomatic progressbetween Moscow and Tbilisi.French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Germanchancellor Angela Merkel were the only worldleaders to “call an end to the hostility” during thearmed conflict. Then President George W. Bush“ordered” Moscow to stop the invasion and backoff.Moscow did not give up on their goal, which wasto help people from South Ossetia and confrontGeorgian troops backed up by the US. Even thoughthe Russian army has had the worst casualties andlosses since Afghanistan, Moscow announced theVictory and pulled out its troops after almost overa week of the “invasion”.From September 2008 until December 2009,Moscow and Georgia have had talks concerning allthe breakaway regions and, especially, South Ossetia.These diplomatic meetings and talks have beenforced by the UN and international community.In December 2009, Moscow announces the possibilityof opening the border with Georgia.A Georgian deputy foreign minister NinoKalandadze told RIA-Novosti that “the partiesheld yet another meeting with Swiss mediation …The good talks resulted in the decision to reopen[the Kazbegi-Verkhny Lars checkpoint].”The anticipation of such decision is clearly highfor both countries. Having no diplomatic ties anymore,they are yet to commence trade and travelservices between one another.Mikheil Saakashvili withNicolas Sarcozy at themeeting between the EUand Georgia 2009.34 Fusion Magazine