Georgia Wants to Accommodate U.S. Russian Interests in Georgia

Georgian President-elect said on January 16 that Georgia ?would definitely suffer? if the country becomes ?a battlefield? for the United Sates and Russia.

?Colin Powell is going to come for my inauguration here, that’s a very important support gesture on the part of Washington and also Mr Ivanov, who is Russian foreign minister, will come here. And I’m looking forward to talking to both of them and to just making the points clear that we don’t want to alienate any of them or to artificially create any contradictions,? Mikheil Saakashvili, who will be inaugurated as a President on January 25, told BBC?s Talking Point program.

He said that Georgia is ?ready to accommodate interests of both superpowers but that they also should consider our own interests and that’s the thing to remember.? Saakashvili said that normalizing those relations are an essential part for Georgia?s survival.

However he added, ?I don’t care about foreign interests, we have our own country. I care today about foreign interests only to the extent when they interact with our own national interests, otherwise I don’t care about anything.?

?Americans are not offering us their military bases. But what they are saying they’re supporting our claim that Georgia should be a military base free country and this is in our national interest,? Georgian President-elect said. 

?The old time of imperialism is over, it’s over – it’s no longer the old cold war epoch and everybody should understand that. We are not going to give up pieces of any of our independence,? he added.