America and Freedom Are Inseparable for Them
// Mikhail Saakashvili visits the United States
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili completed his three-day working visit to the United States yesterday. The main topic of his talks with U.S. President George W. Bush was settlement of the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Saakashvili did not spare the compliments in his quest for support in this problem.
Bush's invitation was taken in Georgia as a sign of respect for the country and its path toward democracy. Georgian observers saw particular symbolism in the fact that the president's visit coincided with U.S. Independence Day and the eve of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg. Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili accompanied Saakashvili and told journalists that it was a great honor “to be in the U.S. on its Day of Independence… It is the spirit of understanding and independence that makes us feel at home in America; therefore we will always mutual understanding with Americans.”
The Georgians' main goal on the visit was to find mutual understanding with Washington about the territorial integrity of Georgia. The importance of that issue was underscored by the presence of Saakashvili's advisor on the settlement of conflicts Irakli Alasania in the delegation.
The Georgians' emphasis on the territorial conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia was interpreted as Saakashvili's going to Washington for support for the use of force against the unrecognized republics, especially South Ossetia. That is the view Moscow took. A Kommersant source close to the Kremlin said that Georgia was trying to link forcible action to the holding of presidential elections in South Ossetia in November. Suggestions of that type were, of course, angrily denied by the Georgians. Georgian State Minister Georgy Khaindrava had already called such talk “absurd and provocative” on Tuesday. “Peaceful ways of regulating the conflicts in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region will be discussed at the negotiations and not some secret plans for a military solution to the problem,” he said.
The fuss over secret military plans was not the only unpleasant surprise for the Georgians. Several days before Saakashvili's Washington visit began, Human Rights Watch sent Bush a letter asking him to raise the issue of human rights violations in Georgia. “The government of Georgia values its relationship with the United States very much. Addressing the government's regressive policies now is crucial to reversing these negative trends outlined above and ensuring protection of human rights and the rule of law in Georgia in the future,” the organization wrote. It may become clear today whether Bush heeded its call, after the records of the negotiations will appear. The negotiations are scheduled to end after night has already fallen in Moscow.
Another important topic at the talks will be Georgia's contribution to energy security, in particular a project to transport Caspian energy resources to the world market through Georgia. The day before meeting with Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other administration officials, Saakashvili met with executives of the state Millennium Challenge Corp., which recently gave Tbilisi $250 million for the renovation of a critical gas line that connects the Russian, Georgian and Armenian networks.
At the meeting at Millennium, Saakashvili urged American businessmen to invest in Georgia more actively. “Georgia today is one of the most dynamically developing countries in the world. In less than three years, we have increased the budget by 400 percent and reach double digit growth in the GDP,” he noted. Georgia receives a healthy share of American money even without business. Georgia is in third place in the world for the amount of money per person it receives in American aid.
Georgia's admittance to NATO did not go without mention either. In the winter of 2004, Saakashvili called NATO, along with Georgian participation in operations in Iraq, his main priorities. The day before his meeting with Bush, Saakashvili said in an interview with the American Fox News network that Georgia would continue to help the U.S. in Iraq. “We consider it a fight for the freedom of the Iraqi people and a fight for the liberal values that we have dreamed all our lives under communist liberalism. America and freedom and inseparable for us,” he said.
It will be seen at the G8 summit what Bush has paid for those warm words when settlement of the Abkhazian and South Ossetian conflicts is discussed there. That is, if it is discussed there at all.
Natalia Portyakova; Vadim Novikov, Tbilisi
All the Article in Russian as of July 06, 2006
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