Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili met US President Barack Obama in Washington. Obama stated he will help Georgia to develop its economy, but doesn’t promise the return of Abkhazia or South Ossetia to Georgia or a presentation of the roadmap on accession to NATO for Georgia at the summit in Chicago. However, the Georgian President and some experts think the visit was fairly successful, considering all the difficulties in relations between Washington, Moscow and Tbilisi.
Ahead of the meeting in the Oval Office, Saakashvili spoke at the Basecamp business-summit in California. He told young businessmen about achievements made by Georgia after the Rose Revolution in 2003: “In Georgia corruption used to be a lifestyle. Georgia was thought to be the most corrupt country in the world, but now Transparency International considers it to be a leader of anti-corruption fighters.” Saakashvili spoke about the police reform in detail, as it is one of the most successful, and emphasized that he fired thousands of policemen, which led to a reduction of the crime rate: “It appeared that former policemen were the main criminals. Today Georgia is the safest country in Europe from the point of view of a criminal situation.” The sum of reforms conducted in the country was called “a mental revolution” by the Georgian leader. He reminded his audience about “Russian provocations and the embargo before the invasion by Putin’s regime in August 2008” and said: “Three years ago Putin promised to hang me by various parts of my body, but since that time I feel well.”
From California Saakashvili went to Washington. After a one-hour discussion the presidents made statements to the mass media. Obama noted Georgian “achievements in institutional establishing and respect for minorities, police reform, improvement of the supremacy of law” and emphasized the necessity of holding “fair and free elections in Georgia, which will strengthen many of the reforms already conducted.” In autumn Georgia will undergo parliamentary elections, and in October 2013 – presidential elections. Obama promised Georgia to provide economic support for improvement of democratic institutions and holding fair elections: “One of the main directions, along with cooperation within OPIC and MCC, is a dialogue at the highest level on improving trade links, including discussion of a treaty on free trade. This will be beneficial for both of us.”
The American leader expressed his admiration for the “remarkable contribution” to the Afghan campaign by the Georgian military. “Georgian soldiers are one of most devoted participants of the operation from non-member-states of NATO. They suffered significant losses during ISAF,” the President said, as 11 soldiers and officers of Georgia were killed during the campaign. “We discussed improvement of cooperation in the defense sphere. We are working in many directions. I’ve assured President Saakashvili that the US will continue to support Georgia's aspirations to be a NATO member.” Obama emphasized that the US considers Georgia to be a model of development for other countries of the region: “We appreciate the democratic model which was established in Georgia. In the next few years many countries will say – if Georgia could achieve such a transformation, we can do it as well. As a result they will be responsible players on the international arena.”
In response Saakashvili said: “Your support is a crucial factor for the independence of my country, its future, the future of Georgian democracy and the future of the whole region.” The Georgian leader expressed his gratitude for “the support for aspirations to join NATO and the extension of cooperation in the defense sphere” and drew attention to economic support: “The free trade treaty with the US will help us to further construct and improve our statehood.” As for the coming elections, the Georgian President signaled that these elections would not close his career: “Georgia is shifting to a parliamentary administration, and next year a new president will be elected, which will be an impulse to our country for further democratic development.” Nobody doubts that in 2013 Georgia will have a new president, but it might happen the same year the country will get a new Premier - Saakashvili. After he left the White House, Saakashvili went on commenting on the meeting: “I’ve been in the Oval Office many times, but I’ve never left it with so many concrete results.”
So after the first official meeting with Obama, Saakashvili feels like a conqueror and returns to Georgia with a firm decision to fight against his main rivals in the parliamentary elections – the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili and the former speaker Nino Burdzhanadze.
Experts on military-political affairs state the visit is important, but do not predict its influence on the prospects for Georgia’s entering to NATO. “Time will tell whether the meeting will influence a deepening of military-strategic cooperation with Georgia. President Obama is not guaranteed victory in the coming elections in November. If a new administration comes to power, it won’t be responsible for promises by the previous one. It is only known that the defense ministries of Georgia and the US will meet. They will discuss cooperation in detail. Probably the Georgian contingent in Afghanistan will be enhanced. The American leader said that he supports the striving of Georgia for NATO membership, but it is difficult to predict how these words will influence the decisions of the NATO summit in Chicago.”
Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to VK
