GEORGIAN LEADER HAILS BALTIC STATES’ PLEDGE TO SUPPORT THREE CAUCASUS COUNTRIES

Imedi TV, Tbilisi
14 Oct 04

(Presenter) Our news bulletin is back and we have some news just in. A
meeting between the Georgian and Lithuanian President in Vilnius ended
a few minutes ago. According to Mikheil Saakashvili and Valdas Adamkus,
the parties signed a historical declaration. Three plus three: this
is a new format in which the three Baltic countries will take the
three Caucasian states under their patronage. These countries will
be lobbyists of Georgia and its neighbours in the European Union and
other international organizations.

(Saakashvili, addressing a news briefing) The main direction of
Georgia’s foreign policy is cooperation and search for friends
everywhere. We have found three very important friends here.

At the same time, I would like to say that today we signed a
declaration entitled (switches to English, to a reporter) – I will
say this later in English, so don’t worry about it, (switches back to
Georgian) – the declaration about regional cooperation and assistance
for Euro-Atlantic integration. This means that now we have lobbyists,
we have a lobbyist in NATO and we have a lobbyist in the European
Union. This is very important.

The second point is that we have decided to come up with a joint
initiative to create a format of three plus three – the three Caucasian
states and the three Baltic states. This is a new mechanism of
regional cooperation which will help Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan
– and Georgia is the initiator of this idea in the Caucasus – the
three Baltic states will help us in representing our interests in
the European Union. We are now closer to Europe. They will help us
so that our voice can be heard in all European organizations.

(Presenter) We will show a more detailed report on the president’s
visit to Vilnius in our ten o’clock news bulletin this evening.