"We have nothing to feud over with Russians": Georgian President is
unaware what is Armenia’s fault

Regnum, Russia
July 12 2006

President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili considers the Russian side’s
closing the Verkhniy Lars checkpoint that blocked traffic through
the Georgian-Russian border "a direct answer" to his negotiations
with the US President George Bush in Washington, REGNUM correspondent
reported. "Frankly speaking, there is a policy targeted at changing
regime in Georgia," Saakashvili said at a news conference in Tbilisi.

"But not only in Georgia. Georgia has become a symbol of the
struggle for freedom and defending people’s interests for Ukrainians,
Byelorussians, people of Central Asia, and many other regions of the
world. I don’t want to be pathetic but our suppression and stifling
means the victory of evil, the triumph of the adversaries of freedom."

"Totally inappropriate statements are being made," Saakashvili
lamented. They say, you go to Washington, and we will annex your
territories, and so on. Do you think they will not annex them if we
do not go? Exactly in that case you will see how they annex it. They
have a hysterical reaction to us, (they make) some manifestations on
the principle "So you do this? Then we would do that!" It is exactly
when Georgia looses the support of the free world Georgia’s foes will
realize their plans."

Mikhail Saakashvili pointed out that the closure of the
Georgian-Russian border economically strikes not Georgia, for Georgian
commodities are exported not in this direction. It only harms people
who make trips through the land border, and goes against the interests
of Armenia. "It is particularly bad for Armenia," Saakashvili said. "I
don’t understand what is Armenia’s fault, since it is Armenian cargos
and citizens that were going through this checkpoint, whereas Georgian
cargos were not allowed there anyway."

"I am not at all pleased that the border is closed; I am not at all
pleased that the wine is not let through, I am not at all happy,
and, I think, Russians should not be happy at all that they cannot
drink Borjomi," the Georgian President said. He also asserted that
it is "not difficult" for him to talk to the President of Russia
Vladimir Putin. "It is always an equal, outspoken, and easy for me
conversation, I think he is a man quite capable of defending his
country’s interests. We will talk."

"Nobody, first of all, we ourselves should not have an illusion that
if we give in and get on our knees, somebody will give us something
back or make something easier for us," Mikhail Saakashvili assured.

"It would be exactly when they saw that we got scared, that we yielded,
that our hands were trembling, that our cause would end… But this
is not in the Georgians’ nature. Why did we manage through this last
winter almost without the energy deficit for the first time?"

"Because when they cut our electric power, everybody got mobilized:
the state agencies, the people, even small children. During each such
hardship there is always a part of society who want to take advantage
of it. I am speaking of the political society, if it could be called
a society. But the people is wise and it realizes that if we respond
(to the challenges) with consolidation, with truth, with spiritual
endurance; if they see that we are not afraid and do not fight with
each other, that we see what pretensions stand behind all this –
we will get out of this much stronger."

The Georgian President also reminded that the Russian society has
traditionally been Georgia’s ally. "Whatever anti-Georgian attitudes
are being created, all this is temporary," he asserted. We have
nothing to feud over with Russians. Moreover, I said to President
Putin straightforwardly that we personally have nothing to feud over.

It was not him who initiated these conflicts. I also did not hold
office when the conflicts were initiated. I always think that, if
we had one tenth or one hundredth of the support that we have now
internationally, there would be no chance for the developments that
actually took place. What a damned time and what a damned circumstance
it was in the life of the most chaos-immersed country that such a
big tragedy happened in Abkhazia. We must not allow another mistake
like this."