Saakashvili: France is Georgia’s ‘Very Strong Ally’

France is Georgia’s “very strong ally” in Europe, President Saakashvili said after a meeting with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Paris on June 13. The meeting was described as “fantastic.”

“In general we have always enjoyed France’s support, but now the situation has radically changed and this support has become more concrete in absolutely all fields,” Saakashvili said.

He said President Sarkozy was “a politician in a really strong position in Europe.”

“I would say he is the leader of Europe. He has extraordinary support from the French people and no other leader has enjoyed such huge support since General Charles de Gaulle,” Saakashvili said.

He also noted that President Sarkozy has “a very principled position” in respect of issues relating to Georgia. He said that he and Sarkozy “share positions” on vital issues.

“No other government in Europe has had such a position before. We have always felt general support and we have always been cooperating with everyone, but no one has ever before expressed such a concrete and clear position,” Saakashvili said.

Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili told Georgian reporters in Paris that the meeting had been “fantastic.”

“It was a meeting of like-minded individuals,” he said.

“We have full support for our foreign policy priorities,” Bezhuashvili added.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the French president’s spokesperson said Kosovo and relations with Russia, as well as cooperation in the defense sphere had been discussed during the meeting.

“The president of the [French] Republic indicated to his counterpart that he wished to strengthen relations between France and Georgia. The personal friendship that binds the two presidents will, according to the [French] head of state, facilitate this process,” the statement said.

According to the Georgia officials, the French President may visit Georgia this autumn.

There was wide-spread media speculation ahead of the meeting that Sarkozy, unlike the former president, Jacques Chirac, would be favorably disposed towards Georgia’s NATO integration.

The Wall Street Journal Online said on June 14 in its article headlined “Sarkozy Makes New Friends” that the France’s new president set himself apart from his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, and received President Saakashvili. The Georgian leader has been trying without success to secure a meeting with Mr. Chirac since 2004 – last time the two men met in Paris, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Nuclear Energy Projects

The Georgian and French presidents have also discussed possible cooperation in civil nuclear energy projects, the French presidential spokesperson said in a statement.

“[President Sarkozy] said that he understood the Georgian projects, including their economic, as well as environmental rationality. He indicated that France was open to future involvement in those projects,” the statement said.

It did not, however, give any details of these projects. Georgian officials have released no information either.

On June 14, President Saakashvili is due to meet Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive of AREVA, a French nuclear energy company.

In the absence of official confirmation, Georgian media sources have been speculating that a nuclear reactor is planned for Georgia.

Defense Cooperation

Military cooperation was also part of discussion at the meeting, according to the French President’s press office.

Also on June 13, President Saakashvili met with French Defense Minister Hervé Morin.

News broke on the same day that Georgian military unit may be deployed in Afghanistan under the command of the France troops.

President Saakashvili said in March that Georgia was ready to send at least 100 servicemen to contribute NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

“It is a quite a realistic plan [to send troops under the French command]. Other proposals, however, are also under consideration. It is up to NATO to decide,” Foreign Minister Bezhuashvili said.

“We are not pushing for any preconditions in exchange of sending our troops. We are ready to deploy troops wherever NATO tells us,” Batu Kutelia, Deputy Defense Minister, said on June 13.

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