The Messenger, Georgia
Oct 18 2004

Georgia finds friends in the far North

On October 12-16 President Mikheil Saakashvili visited Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania. These three Baltic, former Soviet countries are
today members of both the EU and NATO and thus represent models for
Georgia, which wants to integrate into the same Western structures.

The leadership of those three countries all promised Saakashvili that
they would support Georgia in this and would lobby for its
integration. Moreover, they will corporate within the framework of
the 3+3 formula, which means that the three Baltic countries will
introduce the experience of regional cooperation to the three South
Caucasus countries.

During the reconstructive (perestroika) period under Soviet President
Gorbachev, the Baltic countries and Georgia were the first four
Soviet republics fighting for independence. The Baltic republics were
the first to respond to the bloody massacre in Tbilisi on April 9,
1989 committed by the Soviet army, while the attack on the Vilnius
television center in January 1990 caused protest demonstrations in
Georgia. The first Soviet republics to declare independence were
Georgia and Lithuania.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, however, the ways of
the Baltic countries and Georgia have been very different. The Baltic
countries achieved their aim with less loss than Georgia, which even
today has many problems that will take years to solve.

President Saakashvili said that Georgia should look to the Baltic
countries for role models: “Our visit to the Baltic countries is very
important, because these countries are the best models for Georgia’s
progress and advance. In the early 1990s, when we declared
independence, Georgia and Estonia had practically equal development
and economic levels, as well as equal social conditions for people.”

“But today the budget of Estonia per capita is 12-13 times that of
Georgia. The minimum pension in Estonia is nearly GEL 240 (in Georgia
it is only GEL 14-18). This fact can show us what can be done in a
freedom-loving country, which seeks to integrate into Europe, reform
and to fight against corruption,” the president said. He added,
however, that Georgia will soon overtake these countries.

Mikheil Saakashvili called his visit to the Baltic countries both
important and successful. With these countries, Georgia has three
lobbyists in NATO and the EU, 24 Saati reports. The Baltic countries
will share their progressive reform experience with Georgia and at
the same time they will help Georgia integrate into NATO and the EU.

But Georgia is not forgetting its regional neighbors. Saakashvili
said that the main aim of the visit is the international 3+3
initiative, which envisages, the presidents of the Georgia and
Lithuania jointly stated, the creation of a new regional cooperation
between the three Caucasus and the three Baltic countries. The same
draft was created between the Baltic and Central European countries,
and now the Baltic countries are passing on their experience.

This is a little different, however, partly because of the opposition
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which necessarily hinders the
development of South Caucasus regional cooperation, and partly
because only Georgia and Azerbaijan want to enter the EU and NATO. As
for Armenia, it is oriented to Russia and as it does not want to
irritate its main strategic partner.

During his visit to the Baltic countries Saakashvili commented on
recent events in Georgia’s conflict zones. He said that the
restoration of Georgia’s jurisdiction in South Ossetia would be
resolved within three months and that, with regard to Abkhazia,
everything would depend on Georgia’s speed of development. “As soon
as we can develop Georgia’s economy and become more open we will have
more chance of reintegrating Abkhazia into Georgia,” Rezonansi quoted
him as saying.

Saakashvili also made a statement directed at Russia, advising Moscow
not to interfere in Abkhazia after the presidential election.
Russia’s “crawling annexation” policy towards Georgia will
necessarily negatively influence relations between the two countries.
“In the 21st century we will not allow anyone to annex our country;
this is simply impossible,” 24 Saati quoted the president as saying.