Saakashvili in Oval Office

In late January the President of Georgia will visit the USA. On January 30th Mikhail Saakashvili will meet Barak Obama. Georgian politicians and experts think that this meeting might be crucial for the political future of Saakashvili, whose presidential term runs out in December 2013. On the other hand, the invitation to Saakashvili is possibly connected with the situation in the region, including growth of tension around Iran.

The ambassador of Georgia to the US, Timur Yakobashvili, told journalists about the visit. He emphasized that the visit will have an official rather than a working character. “Traditionally an official visit by a head of a state is a peak of intergovernmental relations, and it happens only if relations have reached a certain level. I consider the official visit by the President of Georgia as emphasizing the special relations, which have been formed between our countries and political leaders,” the ambassador said.

Saakashvili has never visited the USA officially. All previous meetings with Obama were working ones, they were held at platforms of various summits. This visit will be special: the NATO summit in Chicago is coming, during which Tbilisi expects to get the road map on accession to the alliance. Furthermore, the Georgian contingent in Afghanistan will increase to 1600-1700 soldiers and officers this year. After the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili appeared in the Georgian political stage, Mikhail Saakashvili wanted to know whether Washington would support rivals to the current power in the future.

In Tbilisi several problematic themes of discussion between Saakashvili and Obama have been detected: possible use of Georgian territory in case of a war against Iran; legitimate transfer of power in Georgia, and relations between Tbilisi and Moscow.

The conflictologist Paata Zakareshvili told VK: “Of course, Georgia will be the most loyal to the US among other neighbors of Iran in case of a war. But these issues could be discussed at other levels. The main aim of Obama is to show Republicans that he didn’t leave a devoted ally to Russia’s mercy.”

Tbilisi is sure that one of the topics for discussion will be elections. “Of course Obama will demand Saakashvili hold the parliamentary elections in 2012 and the presidential elections in 2013 honestly,” the chairman of the opposition party New Right, David Gamkrelidze, told VK.

At the same time, representatives of Georgia's ruling party, the United National Movement, underline the development of the strategic partnership between the USA and Georgia: “The United States won’t interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia, and won’t make any recommendations on holding elections. The visit by the President emphasizes the strategic character of our intergovernmental relations, including in the security sphere,” the MP David Darchiashvili told VK.

The same view is shared by the independent expert Georgy Nodia: “It’s hardly likely that President Obama invited Saakashvili for discussion of democratic elections. Other means could be used for this. Probably Saakashvili's first invitation to the Oval Office is connected with the situation in the region and improvement of cooperation between the US and Georgia in the sphere of security, including in the context of processes around Iran.”