U.S. Calls Government, Opposition for a Dialogue

The United States supports President Saakashvili?s initiative to lower the election threshold from the current 7% to 5% – a step which should make the Parliament ?more representative,? Samuel Laeuchli, the U.S. Political Counselor at the OSCE, said.

He was speaking at the OSCE Permanent Council session in Vienna on October 30 in response to an address by Georgian Prime Minister, Zurab Nogaideli, which focused on the South Ossetian conflict issues. The speech by the U.S. official was also focused on the conflicts, but in the conclusion he also raised some of the points which are in the center of the current political standoff between the authorities and opposition in Georgia and called on the both sides for a dialogue.

?There are other serious areas that need to be addressed,? Samuel Laeuchli said, ?such as improving conditions in pre-trial detention facilities and in prisons, strengthening the independence of the judiciary, and passing and implementing continued reforms to the electoral code with an eye to next year?s elections.?

?In this regard, we urge dialogue between the Georgian Government and opposition, and continue efforts to encourage the development of civil society.?

Meanwhile, Daniel Fried, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, will pay a one-day working visit to Georgia on November 1.

Sean McCormack, the Department of State spokesman, said Daniel Fried would discuss ?a number of different issues? in the U.S.-Georgian bilateral relations with the Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili.

?He’ll be ready to talk about anything that is on President Saakashvili’s mind,? McCormack said. ?There are a lot of — there’s a lot of activity in the neighborhood concerning Russia, concerning Europe, and it’s just a visit designed to touch base on all of those issues.?

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