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Hasan Kanbolat, Director of ORSAM
Sergei
Bagapsh won again in the Dec. 12 presidential elections held in
Abkhazia, which has declared a one-sided (de facto) independence from
Georgia. While Bagapsh was the president of a state considered “de
facto” independent, he is now the president of a state considered “de
jure” since the August 2008 war.
In this respect, the Bagapsh administration will want to improve
relations with Abkhazians living outside Abkhazia and especially with
Turkey, which has an Abkhaz population five times as big as the
Abkhazian population in Abkhazia, in the new term in order to balance
Russia’s influence over Abkhazia.
After all, many Abkhaz deputies, in
particular Soner Gogua, who is from Adapazarı, frequently visit Turkey.
Bagapsh should be expected to make an unofficial visit to Turkey in
2010 as the guest of İstanbul-based Federation of Abkhaz Associations,
which completed its establishment works in November. Bagapsh had plans
to make an unofficial visit to Turkey (Ankara, İstanbul and Adapazarı)
between Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, 2007, however, the visit was delayed after
Tbilisi requested that Ankara postpone the visit due to the escalating
opposition demonstrations in Georgia and following telephone diplomacy
between Ankara and Sukhum.
The rapprochement between Turkey and
Abkhazia -- which began after Foreign Affairs Ministry Deputy
Undersecretary and former Ambassador Ünal Çeviköz, who was part of
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s delegation to Tbilisi, drove to
Abkhazia on Sept. 8 to meet with Abkhaz officials -- pointed to the
start of a new period.
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Two ambassadors who have experience
in Turkey’s Caucasus issue played a major role in preparing the
groundwork for this new period. These two ambassadors are the former
Turkish ambassador to Azerbaijan, Çeviköz, and the former Turkish
ambassador to Georgia, Ertan Tezgör. Even though Turkey is a
Euro-Atlantic country and has good relations with Georgia, having good
relations with Russia provides a favorable environment for Turkey and
Abkhazia to improve relations. A report released on Dec. 16 by the
Middle East Strategic Research Center (ORSAM) and the Economic Research
Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV) titled “Abkhazia for the Integration of
the Black Sea” provides a re-evaluation of and suggestions for
Turkey-Abkhazia relations.
The report highlighted that Turkey
could play an important role in overcoming the isolation of Abkhazia.
After recalling that in the 1990s in the aftermath of the Soviet
Union’s breakup, close economic relations were established between
Abkhazia and Turkey, direct maritime connections were built between
Sukhumi and Trabzon and a highway connection was established between
the two countries, the report notes that Abkhazia was virtually cut off
from the outside world as a result of the 1996 decision by the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to impose economic sanctions
at the request of Georgia and that Turkey, which cooperated with the
CIS decision, discontinued ferry travel to Abkhazia.
It also emphasized that Russia fully
cooperated with the embargo decision until 2000 and that during that
period a lot of harm was inflicted on the people; however, the
sanctions did not yield any political results.
In conclusion, we can summarize
the new period in Turkey-Abkhazia relations as improving humanitarian
ties with Abkhazia by recognizing Georgia’s territorial integrity. To
achieve this, direct bilateral relations should be improved on issues
such as ensuring direct transportation between Turkey and Abkhazia
(first by sea, then by air) and providing assistance in the areas of
culture (via civil society organizations), religion (via the Religious
Affairs Directorate), development (via the Turkish Cooperation and
Development Agency [TİKA]) and humanitarian grants (via the Turkish Red
Crescent [Kızılay]).
* This article was first published in Today's Zaman on 29 December 2009 Source: ORSAM |
