U.S. Official Speaks of Details of Bush’s Visit

The U.S. President’s national security advisor Stephen Hadley said at a news briefing on May 4 that President George W. Bush will express U.S. support for Georgia’s desire to have closer ties to NATO and the EU. He also unveiled some of the details of schedule of Bush’s visit to Georgia.

“On Monday [May 9] afternoon, the President and Mrs. Bush will depart [Moscow] for Tbilisi, Georgia.  Upon arrival, they will visit Old Town Tbilisi. On Tuesday, May 10, the President and Mrs. Bush will participate in an official arrival ceremony.  Later that morning, President Bush will meet with President Saakashvili, followed by a joint press availability.  After the press availability, the President will meet with Georgian civil society leaders and then meet with Speaker of Parliament Burjanadze.  President Bush will then offer remarks to the Georgian people in Freedom Square at the site of the Peaceful Rose Revolution.  Tuesday evening, the President and Mrs. Bush will depart Tbilisi for Washington, D.C,” Stephen Hadley said.

Georgia will be George Bush’s final stop during his European trip scheduled for May 6-10, which also evolves visits to Latvia, the Netherlands and Russia. Visit to Europe will mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and will stress the common commitment of Europeans and Americans to “advance freedom, prosperity and tolerance in Europe and beyond,” the President’s national security advisor Stephen Hadley said at the White House.

In Georgia the U.S. President will honor the country’s Rose Revolution as “a landmark in the history of liberty,” Hadley said.

“The president will pay tribute to that accomplishment and commend the people of Georgia for choosing democracy, and standing up for their freedoms through nonviolent means,” he added.

Hadley also said Bush will reiterate that Georgia must address “through peaceful means the separatist conflicts that are in that country.”

The Washington Post reported on May 5 that President Bush will warn his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili “against provocative actions in the Moscow-aligned separatist region of South Ossetia.”

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