Kenya: Envoy Defends Russia Move On Georgia

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The Nation (Nairobi)

28 August 2008
Posted to the web 29 August 2008

Jami Makan
Nairobi

The Russian ambassador to Kenya yesterday defended his country's decision to recognise two breakaway regions of Georgia, and urged Kenyans to look beyond "the large-scale disinformation" surrounding a military conflict that has raised fears of a second Cold War.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Valery Yegoshkin said that the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia possess a right to self-determination, and that heavy-handedness by Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili left Russia no choice but to occupy and secure the separatist areas.

"President Saakashvili has himself put an end to the issue of the territorial integrity of Georgia," Mr Yegoshkin said. "He left the South Ossetian and Abkhazian people no other choice but to ensure their security and their right to exist as independent states."

Specifically, Mr Yegoshkin accused Georgian troops of ethnic cleansing and the killing of innocent South Ossetian civilians, drawing parallels to conflicts in Burundi and Rwanda.

"What happened is unfortunately well-known to Africa," he said. "What happened in South Ossetia was an attempt of genocide on the ethnic basis." According to media reports, Russia itself has been accused of removing Georgians from the two disputed regions. This charge was recently levelled by Mr Alexander Stubb, the head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has sent observers to South Ossetia to clarify the situation on the ground.

Earlier this week, lawmakers in Moscow unanimously declared the breakaway regions independent, a move that was condemned by the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Japan. These countries have accused Russia of acting disproportionately against Georgian troops, who were fighting South Ossetian separatists in early August when Russian forces decided to intervene.

The military conflict has given rise to fears that a second Cold War is imminent. Already, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has accused the United States of secretly supplying weapons to Georgia. US warships have started delivering aid supplies to Georgia by sea.

"In order to compensate Georgian losses of weaponry in South Ossetia, the West is ready to give Georgia new tools for killing at the expense of its taxpayers," Mr Yegoshkin said yesterday.

Russian leaders have also voiced concerns about the planned missile defence system in Eastern Europe, which the United States maintains is intended to counter threats from countries like Iran and North Korea.

Some observers have even speculated that Russia could eventually call for the independence of Crimea, a Ukranian territory in the Black Sea which, like Georgia's separatist regions, also contains large numbers of ethnic Russians.

But Mr Yegoshkin sought to minimise such fears at yesterday's meeting.

"I think our leadership is very calm...we are sure that world leaders are not interested in another Cold War," he said.

I know perfectly

"Just before I came here, I was in negotiation processes with Ukraine, so I know perfectly well that we have never mentioned any interest in Crimea," he further added.

Mr Yegoshkin also used the opportunity to reaffirm his country's close ties to Kenya. He said that the two countries were planning to cooperate on various projects, such as the construction of a railroad between Mombasa and Addis Ababa and increasing Russian investment in Kenya's mining and tourism sectors.

According to Mr Yegoshkin, trade between the two countries was valued at more than 120 million dollars in 2007.

He also mentioned that Russia has awarded scholarships to Kenyan students through the Ministry of Education, and plans to award 30 more grants this year. According to him, more than 800 Kenyans are currently studying at Russian institutions, many of whom are at medical universities.

He said that many of these developments were discussed with Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetangula, who visited Moscow in July.

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