Georgian delegation solicits Latvian assistance

  • 2005-05-18
  • By Aaron Eglitis
RIGA - A delegation from Georgia arrived in Riga on May 13 for a full-day conference aimed to propel the dynamic Caucasus country along the road to European integration.

Since coming to power after the Rose Revolution in December 2003, the government of Georgia has oriented itself toward Washington and Brussels and raised heckles in Moscow. The apogee of the country's transformation came just one week ago when George W. Bush visited the capital of Tbilisi and became the first U.S. president ever to visit Georgia.

Reinvigorated by the visit, Georgian leaders turned to Latvian experts to gain insight into the long and difficult road traveled to EU and NATO membership. Out of the 15 former Soviet republics, only the three Baltic states can claim success in European integration, and therefore have become a model of development for nations such as Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia.

"Here I feel myself among friends and among people who can understand our aspiration better than anyone else," David Bakradze, head of the Georgian Parliament's EU integration committee told The Baltic Times. Georgia and Latvia have similar pasts, he explained: "We were both invaded by the Soviet Union."

"We are located in a very difficult part of the world, either we are a democracy or we are in chaos," he added.

Other than their common Soviet past, Georgia, like the Baltics, has a complex situation with minorities and is bedeviled by the presence of Russian troops on its soil. Russia, however, has other plans.

"When we negotiate with Russia, they always cite the Baltic example of troop withdrawal as something negative," Bakradze said. "They say that they will never repeat the same mistake of withdrawing Russian troops so quickly as they did in the Baltic states 's that is an example that we would like to repeat."

Like Lithuania and Estonia's leaders, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili stayed home from the May 9 festivities in Moscow, citing a lack of progress in negotiations for troop removal. But he let his sentiments be known during this week's summit of the Council of Europe in Warsaw.

"Latvia is a great friend of ours, and your experience in strengthening the democracy of state and integration in the EU is vital to us," he told Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.

In Riga, Nino Burdzhanadze, speaker of Georgia's Parliament, was quoted by the Leta news agency as saying, "We don't want to be neighbors forever, but we ourselves want to become members of the organizations."

The response from Latvian leaders was unequivocal: "We will support Georgia on its way to the EU and NATO on all possible levels and in every possible way," Parliamentary Speaker Ingrida Udre said May 13 while opening the Latvian-Georgian parliamentary cooperation conference.

"We know how useful advice from a friend is just when you need it most," she said.

Other Baltic aid for Georgia was forthcoming. On May 16, another Georgian delegation was scheduled to visit Latvia to examine how they deal with their minority situation and see if there are some areas they could learn from. The idea came from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Latvia's Parliament is also considering providing aid to a flood damaged region in Georgia.

Other countries in the former Soviet space will likely continue to be on the agenda of the Baltic states and other East European countries. When Ukraine was in the midst of their Orange Revolution, leaders from Poland and Lithuania were on the scene faster than the EU's Javiar Solana.

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said international support for political forces fighting for democracy in Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia is of particular importance, and thus the Baltic states should help bring these countries' problems to the top of the agenda.

Latvian Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis will travel to Georgia at the end of this month as a "political gesture" of support for the emerging democracy.