JULY 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – TBILISI — Georgia accused Russia of grabbing a significant slice of its territory around the breakaway region of South Ossetia, including part of an oil pipeline owned by BP.
Signposts appeared overnight near an important motorway which crosses Georgia declaring the area to be under the control of South Ossetian forces. Armed men also started to patrol the area.
“(The) placing of these banners can be assessed as a provocation and completely unjustified move,” Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili was quoted by Georgian media as saying.
The EU, a consistent supporter of Georgia, agreed with Mr Garibashvili and released a statement on July 16 calling for the South Ossetian banners to be withdrawn.
Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in 2008 over South Ossetia which had declared de facto independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. After the 2008 war, Russia and a handful of other states recognised this independence.
Tension around the border zone, rugged hilly countryside dotted with farms and woods, has ebbed and flowed since then. This apparent land grab is one of the most serious, though.
It also highlights the risk of Georgia being an increasingly important part of the transit route for goods travelling between Asia and Europe.
Mr Garibashvili said that a 1.6km section of BP-operated Baku-Supsa oil pipeline now fell under rebel control.
“The pipeline is of strategic importance not only for us, but also for several other countries,” he said.
The 850km-long pipeline pumps 100,000 barrels of oil a day from fields in the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea where it is then shipped on to consumers in Europe.
Media quoted a BP spokesperson as saying that oil supplies would continue unaffected.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 240, published on July 16 2015)