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GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SAYS MOSCOW THREATENS NEW DEMOCRACIES IN EASTERN EUROPE
Karl Ritter
AP Worldstream
May 04, 2006
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on Thursday accused Russia of
trying to undermine national sovereignty and economic growth in the
fledgling democracies emerging from the former Soviet empire.
Saakashvili warned that democratic advances in Georgia, Ukraine and
the Baltic countries since the collapse of communism were under threat
from Moscow, which he said suffered from "imperial nostalgia."
"Freedom is under threat," Saakashvili told a forum of Baltic and
Black Sea leaders in the Lithuanian capital. "Political forces in
Moscow actively work to undermine our economies, our sovereignty,
and even our system of governance."
Georgia, is heavily reliant on imports of cheap Russian natural gas,
and Saakashivili accused Russia of using "new tools such as energy
dependence, state censorship and the power of national monopolies"
to bully its neighbors.
"We still have imperial nostalgia around us," Saakashivili said,
also noting a recent Russian ban on imports of Georgian wine.
Ties between Moscow and Tbilisi have cooled markedly since
Saakashvili swept to power more than two years ago during Georgia's
Rose Revolution.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accused Russia
of restricting the rights of its citizens, and said "no legitimate
interest is served" by turning energy resources into implements
of blackmail.
The presidents of Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland and Moldova also attended the summit, sharing their
experiences in democracy-building after the Soviet collapse.
The countries are in different stages of integration with the West
through membership in NATO and the European Union. The Baltic countries
and Poland are both NATO and EU members, while Ukraine and Georgia
are still looking for membership in both.
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said NATO hopefuls should
not expect "any concrete invitations for accession" when her country
hosts an alliance summit in November.
Ministers from Azerbaijan and Armenia also attended the summit, and
used the occasion to accuse each other of aggression in the disputed
enclave of Nagorno-Karabach.
Nevertheless, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana proclaimed:
"Here we can see the elements of a possible breakthrough."
The countries accuse each other of frequently violating the shaky
1994 cease-fire that ended fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian
forces over the enclave.
Solana said the EU was committed to "underpin an agreement" in
Nagorno-Karabach and other so-called "frozen conflicts" in the Black
Sea region, including Trans-Dniester, which broke away from Moldova
in 1992.
Delegates also expressed hope that the spread of freedom in the region
would reach Belarus, which Cheney called "Europe's last dictatorship,"
and condemned the arrest of Bealrusian opposition leader Alexander
Milinkevich.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Karl Ritter
AP Worldstream
May 04, 2006
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on Thursday accused Russia of
trying to undermine national sovereignty and economic growth in the
fledgling democracies emerging from the former Soviet empire.
Saakashvili warned that democratic advances in Georgia, Ukraine and
the Baltic countries since the collapse of communism were under threat
from Moscow, which he said suffered from "imperial nostalgia."
"Freedom is under threat," Saakashvili told a forum of Baltic and
Black Sea leaders in the Lithuanian capital. "Political forces in
Moscow actively work to undermine our economies, our sovereignty,
and even our system of governance."
Georgia, is heavily reliant on imports of cheap Russian natural gas,
and Saakashivili accused Russia of using "new tools such as energy
dependence, state censorship and the power of national monopolies"
to bully its neighbors.
"We still have imperial nostalgia around us," Saakashivili said,
also noting a recent Russian ban on imports of Georgian wine.
Ties between Moscow and Tbilisi have cooled markedly since
Saakashvili swept to power more than two years ago during Georgia's
Rose Revolution.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accused Russia
of restricting the rights of its citizens, and said "no legitimate
interest is served" by turning energy resources into implements
of blackmail.
The presidents of Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland and Moldova also attended the summit, sharing their
experiences in democracy-building after the Soviet collapse.
The countries are in different stages of integration with the West
through membership in NATO and the European Union. The Baltic countries
and Poland are both NATO and EU members, while Ukraine and Georgia
are still looking for membership in both.
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said NATO hopefuls should
not expect "any concrete invitations for accession" when her country
hosts an alliance summit in November.
Ministers from Azerbaijan and Armenia also attended the summit, and
used the occasion to accuse each other of aggression in the disputed
enclave of Nagorno-Karabach.
Nevertheless, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana proclaimed:
"Here we can see the elements of a possible breakthrough."
The countries accuse each other of frequently violating the shaky
1994 cease-fire that ended fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian
forces over the enclave.
Solana said the EU was committed to "underpin an agreement" in
Nagorno-Karabach and other so-called "frozen conflicts" in the Black
Sea region, including Trans-Dniester, which broke away from Moldova
in 1992.
Delegates also expressed hope that the spread of freedom in the region
would reach Belarus, which Cheney called "Europe's last dictatorship,"
and condemned the arrest of Bealrusian opposition leader Alexander
Milinkevich.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress