U.S.-Georgia Relations

Ambassador Tefft: Thank you very much everyone for being patient. We have been at consecutive meetings with the Speaker, Prime Minister and the President. We were running a little late, and we apologize for that. I’m really very happy to present to you again, I think on his third visit to Georgia in the last year, our Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Daniel Fried. I just want to add one note right from the beginning here, that last night as we picked him up at the airport, and we took him to the hotel, and we sat down to give him a short briefing, and the first thing he did was order a bottle of Georgian Saparavi wine so that we could get started. Dan Fried.

Assistant Secretary Fried: It’s a pleasure to be back in Georgia. My apologies for being late; I was meeting with President Saakashvili. I arrived last night, and I have met with the leaders of the opposition, had lunch with the Foreign Minister, met with the Speaker of the Parliament, Ms. Burjanadze, met with Prime Minister Noghaideli, and, of course, just came back from meeting the President.

I have come here, of course, during a difficult time for Georgia and for some Georgians. The United States supports Georgia’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, and we support Georgia’s aspirations to deepen its reforms and draw ever closer to the transatlantic community.

We very much regret the recent downturn in Georgia/Russia relations. It is unfortunate because history and geography mean that Russia and Georgia will be neighbors forever. And we hope to see these relations put on a good track soon.

I must say that I thoroughly support the conclusions of the European Union, which express concern about Russian economic and political pressure on Georgia and in particular the pressure on Georgians living in Moscow and other Russian cities.

I was deeply concerned and saddened and frankly find unsatisfactory the death of a Georgian held by Russia prior to deportation, a fact I learned of yesterday. This is not right. And I hope this pressure ends soon. It should end soon. It serves no purpose.

Many of my discussions involved the so-called frozen conflicts, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. There is no solution to these conflicts except through peaceful dialogue, negotiation, and a resolution based on Georgia’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, and the rights and interests of all the peoples in this region including the refugees.

The OSCE, the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia all have an interest in the peaceful resolution of these conflicts and until that resolution no party should take any steps which could exacerbate the tensions in those regions.

Finally let me say that I am an enthusiastic supporter of Georgia’s economic and political reforms which have taken this country from a very difficult domestic position four years ago to one of the fastest growing economies in the region and in Eurasia and a country with a bright future especially as it sees its way through some current difficulties.

So with that statement I am happy to take your questions.

Question: Radio Liberty. The international community is calling on Russia and Georgia to engage in a dialogue but in recent years we witnessed that this dialogue was itself problematic and difficult to engage in and when you say the tension should end and the pressures should be removed what are the bases for saying that?

Assistant Secretary Fried: Well, the basis for saying so is the fact that Russian/Georgian relations will not improve until both sides make efforts to improve them and it does neither the countries themselves nor the region any good to have these kinds of tensions prolonged. I think economic boycotts and bans and particularly pressure on people based on their ethnicity is not what we want to see anywhere, particularly not in this part of the world in the twenty-first century.

Question: Georgian Public Broadcasting. The Georgian officials have stated a number of times that conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia are the ones between Georgia and Russia. What do you think? Are these the conflicts between Georgia and Russia or between Georgia and South Ossetia and Georgia and Abkhazia?

Assistant Secretary Fried: The conflicts are complicated. I am far from an expert but certainly they stem from the break-up of the Soviet Union and the ethnic conflicts that shook this region and others as part of that break-up. The causes are complicated, the pain and suffering on all sides is real, there are real differences that need to be addressed between Georgia and the defacto authorities of both places, and at the same time Russia needs to play a role and has the ability to play a role which is constructive and consistent with Georgia’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. A solution would be a benefit to everyone; certainly Russia, which has a very legitimate interest in stability in the North Caucasus, has an equal interest at least in stability in the South Caucasus. Territorial integrity is a principle which Russia has invoked and rightly so with respect to itself and should be respected with respect to Georgia and indeed has been confirmed in numerous Security Council resolutions including the one last Friday.

Question: Helena Bedwell, Russia Today. We are aware that you are traveling to Russia, and what are you going to tell the Russians (inaudible)?

Assistant Secretary Fried: Tomorrow morning I am going to Brussels, where I will be meeting with NATO and EU officials, talking among other things about my trip here, then I will go to Russia, where I will be joining other American officials, and expect to continue my discussions there. I do have a regular dialogue with Russian officials about these issues. I have no particular comment about the training you mentioned, except that it is important for Russia also to work with Georgia and work for the sake of stability at this point. I see nothing to be gained by exacerbating tensions between a very large, strong, wealthy country, which is Russia, and a small country, Georgia, which is seeking to find its way in the world and is doing so democratically and through reforms. Georgia is a small country with, I hope, a bright future, and it would certainly be in Russia’s interests, it seems to me, to have a prosperous stable Georgia to its south.

Question: TV Company Mze. What were the themes you discussed today at the meeting with the opposition?

Assistant Secretary Fried: I make it a habit of meeting with leaders of the opposition when I travel, or nearly so. I had a good discussion today. I wanted to hear their views of where Georgia is and where it’s going, also their views of larger themes, Russia-Georgia relations, the frozen conflicts. What impressed me the most is the strong consensus I heard for Georgia’s western and Euro-Atlantic vocation. Their argument, with the government, well, they’re the opposition, their job is to argue with the government, but their argument with the government was about tactics, not overall objectives, so I was heartened to hear what appears to be a strong national consensus.

Question: Reuters, Caucasus Bureau. As you probably know, Abkhazia addressed Russia’s State Duma to recognize its independence. On November 12 a referendum is going to be held in South Ossetia on the same issue. Russian political circles frequently suggest the Kosovo model, which is anticipated independence, to recognize these republics, regions. If this is the case, how is the United States going to act?

Assistant Secretary Fried: Very simply. We do not and we will not recognize the independence of either of those territories, referendum or no referendum. The so-called parallel with Kosovo is historically false. Kosovo is not a precedent for any other situation, it is unique, and the Security Council recently reaffirmed its support for Georgia’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, as recently as last Friday. The Transnistrian authorities conducted a similar referendum, no one recognized it; it had no effect. No referendum will change the fact that Georgia’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized boundaries remains a fact within which we are all working for a good solution. Frozen conflicts often stay frozen for a while.

Question: Two questions. 24 Hours newspaper. Russian officials announced the recent UN Security Council Resolution as a diplomatic success and victory. United States officials have regularly said that they do not engage in trades, but was there in reality an exchange of Georgia for North Korea? In order to find a solution with the Russian side, what kind of responsibilities are there for Georgians and what (inaudible) did this statement take?

Assistant Secretary Fried: The resolution last Friday extended the UN monitoring mission in Georgia, which performs an important role. It is because we think that monitoring mission is important that we voted for the resolution. It was not a defeat for Georgia, and it simply was a victory for continued stability provided by that UN mission, and to say that the United States traded something for something else is an absurd allegation without any foundation, I can assure you, since I was working on this issue last Thursday and Friday quite heavily. I refer you also to the statement of Ambassador Bolton which explained our vote more eloquently and in more detail than I just did. And with respect to your second question, I think that boycotts, bans, and in particular pressure on Georgians, apparently because of their ethnicity, is not a contribution to good Russian-Georgian relations, and I hope that this pressure stops. And I think that the European Union was correct to express concern about it. It is deeply disturbing. Of course, Georgia should spare no effort in working on diplomatic solutions to the frozen conflicts. We look forward to continuing our work with Georgia to this end.

Question: (in Russian) As far as we know, Secretary Rice is planning to travel to Moscow. Georgia will be one of the subjects discussed. Can you tell us about the details of these discussions?

Assistant Secretary Fried: (inaudible) My secretary is making a trip to Asia, and I don’t want to comment about her next stops, but when we have a good dialogue with the Russians about a number of issues, we have also discussed Georgia and the frozen conflicts with the Russians on a number of occasions, but I certainly can’t predict what will be discussed in meetings that have not happened yet.

Question: (in Russian) Russian First Channel. (inaudible) Is the United States going to continue its support to Georgia?

Assistant Secretary Fried: Well, in the first, to answer your second question, I am proud that the United States has helped Georgia throughout its transformation. Of course, our help has been much more effective under the new government because that new government has taken economic reforms much more seriously. We have announced a rather large, in addition to our usual assistance, we have announced a rather large program under the Millennium Challenge Account, which is going to work on road, transportation and gas pipeline infrastructure in Georgia. We are also frankly looking at ways in which we can help Georgian business reorient its exports. The Baltic states went through a similar period ten years ago. They reoriented many of their exports from Russia to the west, and did so rather successfully. And as for your first question, we certainly think that Georgia and Russia should be speaking, we think it serves no one’s interests to have this current standoff continue. It makes no sense, objectively speaking.

Question: Question from Civil Georgia. Are there questions from the United States officials to Russian officials about why they are putting pressure on Georgia? And if there were discussions, what were their responses?

Assistant Secretary Fried: Well, it is usually not a good idea to talk about confidential diplomatic discussions. Let us say that I am in regular contact with my Russian colleagues. I have expressed the views of my government, and I certainly hope that Russia will think about some of the measures it has imposed against Georgia, and particularly against Georgians, simply because of their nationality, which I find recalls another era, in a time best forgotten and left behind. Thank you.