Moscow is accelerating the “illegal annexation” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two Georgian territories the Russian military invaded 10 years ago and has occupied ever since, the Caucasus country’s ambassador to the U.S. told Congress on Tuesday.
“Russia continues its aggressive policy aimed at redrawing the borders and retaining the so-called zones of influence,” Georgian Ambassador David Bakradze told the congressional panel on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission.
“This undermines the security and peace in Europe,” he added, “and creates a very dangerous environment that if not appropriately countered may lead to developments in the region that will be hard to reverse.”
Tuesday’s hearing unfolded against partisan rancor across Capitol Hill over President Trump’s Monday summit in Finland with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There, Mr. Trump disregarded U.S. intelligence agency conclusions that Moscow interfered in the 2016 U.S. election — comments he walked back on Tuesday.
Helsinki Commission members, meanwhile, were quick to connect Russian efforts to meddle in U.S. elections with the subversive tactics Kremlin operatives have employed in Georgia since invading in 2008 and taking Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Sen. Ben Cardin, Maryland Democrat, said Moscow’s evolving hybrid warfare doctrine, “which is intended to disrupt Democratic governments” was just as effective sowing chaos and disorder in Georgia as it has been in the U.S.
Those tactics have resulted in Russian troops successfully occupying South Ossetia and Abkhazia and defending what Moscow calls a “border,” which Georgia does not recognize. The area under Moscow’s control represent roughly one-fifth of Georgia’s territory.
Regional analysts see the Kremlin’s victory as integral to the perception that Russia is enjoying a post-Cold War resurgence after losing influence in Georgia when the country pursued a pro-Western foreign policy in the wake of its 2003 bloodless Rose Revolution.
Luke Coffey, Director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation think tank, told the Helsinki Commission that Georgia, a NATO ally, has played a crucial role supporting U.S. missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Coffey said Georgia’s military this year will finally receive access to the coveted Javelin anti-tank missile system because of its status in NATO. Whether that halts Russian aggression is an open question.
Mr. Bakradze thanked Washington for its support, particularly members of the congressional Georgia Caucus, Rep. Ted Poe, Texas Republican, and Rep. Gerald Connolly, Virginia Democrat, in addition to Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker, Mississippi Republican, and Mr. Cardin.
But he also painted a dreary picture of Russian aggression along the occupied border, which Moscow keeps pushing forward justified by what the Kremlin calls “integration treaties.”
Moscow’s military, political, economic and social systems keep inching inward, Mr. Bakradze said, with up to 10,000 soldiers and another 3,000 intelligence officers now permanently stationed in the occupied territories. The Abkhazia border has also been fortified with 49 kilometers of barbed wire, the South Ossetia border with 52 kilometers, he added.
Local authorities have also reported efforts by Russian authorities to eliminate Georgian language and culture from the occupied regions. In addition, Georgian efforts to support a European Union monitoring mission, launched under an earlier cease-fire, are seen to be failing.
While Mr. Bakradze emphasized Georgia’s desire to purse “peaceful conflict resolution” he noted that “strong leadership of the United States is essential to reach progress in the resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict.”
• Dan Boylan can be reached at dboylan@washingtontimes.com.
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