Mikheil Saakashvili has called a meeting with U.S. President George Bush in the American capital historic

Thursday, January 21, 2021

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Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili has called a meeting with U.S. President George Bush in the American capital historic. The Georgian leader met with his American counterpart Wednesday during a three-day visit to secure further support from the United States 10 days before Bush meets other leaders from the Group of Eight industrialized nations at Russia's debut summit. Speaking to reporters afterward, Saakashvili said: "The meeting was absolutely historic for Georgia. I am positive the Georgian people will see the results of the meeting." Saakashvili said the meeting showed that the United States was set to continue supporting the South Caucasus republic in its "struggle for independence" apparently referring to the country's efforts to curb Russia's influence, join NATO and integrate into other Western bodies. Bush told a news briefing that Georgia had work to do to join the alliance, but promised to alleviate the process. "I believe that NATO would benefit with Georgia being a member of NATO, and I think Georgia would benefit. And we will work with our partners in NATO to see if we can't make the path a little smoother for Georgia," Bush said. Georgia's ambition to join NATO since Western-educated Saakashvili came to power in a velvet revolution has strained relations with Russia, which is worried by new NATO bases appearing near its borders and American interference in the post-Soviet developments. Georgia, for its part, has urged Russia to withdraw remaining two Soviet-era bases from its territory, a process that is now under way. Saakashvili, who accuses Russia of backing regimes in its two breakaway regions, also brought the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia for discussion with Bush in the hope that the U.S. leader would influence Russia on the matter at the G8 summit. Russia argues it helped stop bloodshed in the region in the 1990s and its peacekeepers play an essential role in averting new conflicts. Saakashvili also said that he had handed over to the American president a copy of the letter written to Bush by Georgian fighters for freedom seven years ago, but was intercepted by the KGB. "I just sent over to President Bush the letter that Georgian freedom fighters sent him seven years ago, and it never made it to the White House. It was intercepted by KGB and all the people who wrote it were shot," Saakashvili said, without elaborating which fighters he meant, which KGB agents had intercepted the latter, and how he had come into possession of it. George Bush became president in 2000.

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