How Bagdasarov left Vashadze without Russian passport

A new diplomatic scandal has burst out between Georgia and Russia - a small scandal in fact. State Duma deputy Semen Bagdasarov suggested that Georgian FM Grigol Vashadze be deprived of Russian citizenship. He wasn't supported by his colleagues. But Vashadze himself who hadn't planned to renounce Russian citizenship angrily submitted his RF passport to President Dmitry Medvedev together with a request of citizenship renunciation. For whose benefit? This is what GeorgiaTimes correspondent was trying to find out in Moscow and Tbilisi.

Recently before the start of the Cabinet session Grigol Vashadze stated: "The Russian Duma is a little late. I have already submitted an application to the president of the Russian Federation with my Russian passport enclosed to it in the envelope thereby depleting my duties as a Russian subject", - Vashadze stated.

In human terms Vashadze can be understood. It's simply grudges since earlier the State Duma was considering his Russian citizenship denial. For a person believed to be a follower of the Soviet Foreign Policy school it is not a very nice fact, to put it mildly. However from the point of view of an experienced diplomat like Vashadze such an emotional move is strange.

He had heard numerous accusations because of his double citizenship - from nationalistically minded Georgians too - but kept saying he would not renounce his Russian citizenship.

Not once did Vashadze say what he repeated to Kommersant correspondent recently about keeping his Russian passport hoping that "current abnormal state of things in Russian-Georgian relations will improve...No matter whether I have a Russian passport in my pocket or not my Russia will always be with me and nobody can take it away from me".

Still he flared up and renounced it. Besides, the Duma didn't back the idea of depriving him of Russian citizenship. Though the issue that the Duma raised is not totally clear: have they solved all problems and freed people from their troubles to take care of Vashadze's citizenship?

The Duma reminded Semen Bagdasarov, the Fair Russia deputy that the RF Constitution does not have procedures on forced denial of Russian citizenship. These mechanisms are possible only in totalitarian regimes. This practice was used in the USSR. Today's Russia took the way of international law.

In a conversation with GeorgiaTimes correspondent Bagdasarov's party mate Alexander Chuyev remarked that to deprive Vashadze of his Russian citizenship was Bagdasarov's personal initiative he hadn't discussed at the party or faction level.

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