In early November, 50 opposition MPs from Georgia called on NATO and EU member states to take a united position against Russia’s plans to establish a permanent naval base in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia.
The country fears that the base could drag it into Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as harm Tbilisi’s own plans to build a large new port on the Black Sea.
“We unanimously and strongly condemn the Russian occupation, militarization and other actions aimed at annexing the occupied regions of Georgia, a new expression of which is the opening of a permanent Russian naval base in the port of Ochamchire,” the deputies said in a statement.
In early October, Abkhazian leader Aslan Bzhania confirmed that his government had signed anagreement with the Kremlin on a permanent naval base in the Black Sea port of Ochamchira.
Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and another Georgian breakaway region, South Ossetia, after the August 2008 war. The West has accused Russia of annexing Abkhazia and South Ossetia and considers them part of Georgia (ed).
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs harshly condemned Russia’s plans, calling them a gross violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their country. At the same time, Tbilisi stated that in the near future the new base will not pose a direct threat to Georgia.
“Even if they start building a base in Ochamchira, it will take them at least three years,” the head of the Georgian Committee on Foreign Relations, MP Nikoloz Samkharadze, told the BBC. “We focus on immediate threats rather than those that may arise in the future.”
He explained that the Georgian government is now mainly concerned about the situation with the murder and kidnapping of Georgian citizens by the Russian military near the occupation line separating Georgia from the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“We do not see any steps towards the start of construction in Ochamchira,” he added.
Fear of being drawn into war
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BBC Newsnight and BBC Verify have analyzed satellite imagery that shows dredging and construction work has taken place at the port of Ochamchira since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Thanks to this work, Ochamchira will now be able to accept ships with a displacement of up to 13 thousand tons, Abkhaz authorities reported.
However, Ukrainian intelligence claims that the purpose of these works is to allow Ochamchira to serve as a safe harbor for ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
If Russia uses Ochamchira to attack Ukraine, or if Ukraine decides to attack Russian warships in its port, Georgia will be drawn into war, said Natia Seskuria of Britain’s Royal Institute of Defense Studies.
“If Putin wants to somehow drag Georgia into this war, he will do it if it is in his interests. And, unfortunately, he has every opportunity to put pressure on Georgia,” she says.
Russia’s plans for Ochamchira have also raised concerns among Georgian authorities that their own plans to create a large new port on the Black Sea coast could be thwarted.
What is happening to the port of Anaklia
The deep-water sea port “Anaklia” should be built in the Georgian village of the same name, very close to Abkhazia.
The project is seen as vital to boosting trade along the so-called Middle Corridor, the fastest shipping route between Asia and Europe.
This corridor bypasses Russia and, according to World Bank estimates, could halve travel times and triple trade volumes by 2030.
The Kremlin has long opposed the construction of Anaklia, calling it a US project, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov even said that US Navy submarines would be able to moor at this port.
Although the population of Georgia is generally pro-European, its authorities are trying to maneuver in relations with Moscow.
In 2020, the Georgian authorities terminated the existing contract for the construction of a deep-sea port, which was concluded with a consortium that had secured the support of Western banks and investors.
Mamuka Khazaradze, who headed that original Anaklia Development Consortium, says the government then suspended port development to appease Moscow.
“The biggest problem with this government for us is that it serves the interests of Russia, because the construction of Anaklia is not in the interests of Russia,” he said.
Khazaradze recalls that Ochamchira is located only 30 km north of Anaklia along the Black Sea coast.
His consortium filed a lawsuit against the Georgian government at the International Court of Arbitration.
“We extracted five million cubic meters of sand from a depth of 11 meters. We laid three and a half thousand kilometers of pipes,” lists Khazaradze, head of the opposition party Lelo.
The Georgian government assures that the projec
Nikoloz Samkharadze, who heads the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, called accusations of a pro-Russian position against his government absurd.
“How, tell me, can a pro-Russian government sign an association agreement with the European Union, obtain a visa-free regime with the European Union and candidate status for the European Union?” asks Samkharadze.
But he also explains that Georgia has to be careful with its northern neighbor: “Over the past 30 years, we have had three wars with Russia. There is no NATO security umbrella over us. We don’t have EU economic support.”
Samkharadze suggested that Russia is using Ochamchira to threaten Georgia over its intention to join the EU.
European leaders are due to announce a final decision on Georgia’s application for EU candidate status at a summit this week.
“The Russians… always use the moment to undermine, firstly, the stability of Georgia, and secondly, Georgia’s desire for European integration,” the politician emphasized.
“They are trying to show our European and American partners that they are the masters in the South Caucasus and can do whatever they want,” he added.
Source : BBC
