Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 13 /Trend, E.Tariverdiyeva/
Lifting visas for Georgian citizens of the North Caucasian republics destabilizes the situation both in Russia and in Georgia itself, experts say.
"This is not the first step of Georgia, it is a deliberate policy to destabilize the situation in Russia, since the preservation of the Northern Caucasus as part of the Russian Federation is the pledge of stability of this country," said the head of the Center for Caucasian Studies under Russian State Humanitarian University, a member of the Trend Expert Council, Ismayil Agakishiev.
"After the simplification of communication, control will be complicated for passage of people from Russia who want to destabilize the situation in Georgia," said the Georgian expert on the Caucasus, Mamuka Areshidze.
Visa-free regime for residents of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia - Alania, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygeya - came into effect in Georgia on Wednesday, Oct. 13.
This decision was made within the liberalization policies of the Georgian government and on the basis of the continuation of traditional relations with the peoples of the North Caucasus, said the statement by the Georgian Foreign Ministry.
The decision by the Georgian authorities to unilaterally lift the visa for residents of the North Caucasian republics of Russia is the next step of propaganda of Tbilisi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday in Moscow, RIA Novosti reported.
According to him, the Russian Foreign Ministry did not see any official decisions, but they saw news reports on this topic.
Ex-Parliamentary Speaker and Democratic Movement - United Georgia Party Leader Nino Burjanadze criticized the Georgian authorities' decision on the introduction of a visa-free regime for residents of the North Caucasus republics of the Russian Federation.
"Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's decision on unilateral abolition of a visa regime would not work without coordination with Russia and will not be able to perform any humanitarian mission," the party's statement reads.
Burjanadze regarded this decision as a "provocation."
According to experts, the decision by the Georgian authorities to lift visas for residents of the North Caucasian republics would lead to destabilization of the situation in both countries.
With such actions, Tbilisi is deliberately trying to destabilize the situation in the North Caucasus, and perhaps soon people who want to use it for their own purposes will appear there, said Agakishiev.
"Georgia has played and will play a role of destabilizing factor for Russia," expert said on at a meeting with reporters of Trend Agency Wednesday, Oct. 13.
According to the Georgian expert Irakli Sesiashvili, opening the border to unfriendly countries contains provocations and threats for Georgia.
"This is sending by agents, and creating tension in the border regions, and the other," Sesiashvili told Trend.
He called "helpless" the grounds upon which the Georgian authorities opened the border.
"The Georgian authorities operate on the principle "my enemy's enemy is my friend" and, of course, this decision has a certain hidden intention, which involves hiding people persecuted by Moscow in Georgia, which, however, is fraught with consequences for Georgia and can be turned against it," said Sesiashvili.
According to experts, this decision may also allow Russia to continue to block negotiations with Tbilisi. "The international community is trying to establish a dialogue between Georgia and Russia, but Moscow can say that Georgia is harboring its enemies, and once again frustrate those efforts," he said.
According to Areshidze, establishing the organization of "Daryal" is a serious threat to Georgia.
"The purpose of this organization is to destabilize the situation in Georgia. The access of its representatives here is associated with serious problems, but because of them, we can not deny entry of the Ossetians, who left Georgia and wish to visit the graves of their parents or to come back here," said the expert .
Although, according to him, simplifying communication has positive aspects, so the risk is justified.
According to the deputy dean of the history department of Moscow State University, a member of the Trend Expert Council Aleksey Vlasov, the situation with the abolition of visas will eventually lead to a further, if possible, the deterioration in relations between Moscow and Tbilisi.
"In fact, all lines of communication that could take place are broken. Because if such actions are conducted in relation to Russia, then the answer should be adequate, although the answer is, essentially, nothing, because everything has frozen to zero," said Vlasov, chief editor of information-analytical agency "Bulletin of the Caucasus", at a meeting with journalists of Trend Agency.
According to him, such actions do not make life easier for ordinary people, given the negative background on which all these are implemented.
According to Areshidze, Georgia's introduction of visa-free regime for citizens of the North Caucasian republics is a humanitarian and political move by Tbilisi, which naturally will irritate Russia.
However, according to him, these measures are insufficient, they will not change much.
According to expert, the Georgian government should go further and introduce a visa-free regime for Russian citizens of Georgian origin, living in different regions of Russia.
"With regards to what simplifying the communication with North Ossetia will give us in terms of relations with the population of the conflict regions, I would say that at one time we lost a lot, when did not carry out the necessary work with the North Caucasian peoples," Areshidze told Trend.
N.Kirtskhalia (Tbilisi) contributed to the article.