Saakashvili Makes NATO Appointment
The three-day working visit of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to Washington began yesterday, March 17, 2008. For Saakashvili, the purpose to attain is to win the U.S. support for inviting Georgia to join the NATO Membership Action Plan at the Bucharest summit. Diplomats in the RF Foreign Ministry doubt that Washington will ultimately back up Saakashvili, as this move will trigger another confrontation and further aggravate the already clouded relations of the United States and Russia.
In Tbilisi, they openly say that the highlight of Mikhail Saakashvili’s tour to the United States is to reach another stage of relations with the alliance. Georgia stakes on joining the Membership Action Plan in less than a month. For this purpose, Saakashvili addressed NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in mid-February.
Saakashvili personally clarified significance of the moment before heading for Washington. The great battle is underway for uniting Georgia and NATO, the president told reporters in Batumi, specifying that, in essence, it is the geopolitical battle around Georgia. On the other hand, Saakashvili went on, the situation is critical for Georgia’s regions (Abkhazia and South Ossetia).
In Georgia, 77 percent voted for joining the alliance at the January 5 referendum that was timed to the presidential election. But NATO is by far not unanimous about potential membership of former republics of the USSR – Georgia and Ukraine.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 18, 2008
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