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U.S.A. DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE POST-SOVIET SPACE AS RUSSIA’S INFLUENCE AREA
ALEXANDER RONDELI,
President of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, Tbilisi
The Georgian authorities are concerned about the meeting between the U.S. and Russian Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev which took place in London on April 1st. Observers report on the improvement of the U.S.–Russian relations, which could mean that the post-Soviet space could be recognized Moscow’s region of interest. This may change the situation in the South Caucasus and may influence the status of South Ossetia and Abhkazia.
Naturally, the fears are not unfounded. When such countries as the U.S.A. and Russia try co come to an agreement about something, the small countries, like Georgia, are nervous.
Every time new U.S. Administration tries to establish good relations with Moscow but they don't last for a long time. The reason is that there are fundamental differences between America and Russia, whose roots lie in different values. Although large states are guided by their interests rather than by their values, values are of great importance to the U.S.A.
That means that the U.S. does not recognize the former Soviet Union as Russia’s influence area. The U.S. officials repeatedly said that one should not speak about dividing the world up into influence areas. So, the U.S. will not throw away its allies including Georgia for the sake of "reset" of the relations with Russia.
Georgia is interested in warming of the relations between America and Russia because the two countries are too different, which is seen in their positions towards the 9 April protest action in Georgia. The U.S. would like Georgia to be a stable state. By contrast, Russia is interested in destabilization of the political situation and downfall of Mikheil Saakashvili’s regime so that the Georgian opposition wallows in struggle for power.
April 7, 2009
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