US VICE-PRESIDENT Joe Biden told Russia yesterday it must honour the ceasefire which ended its war with Georgia almost a year ago and “ultimately” withdraw its troops from Georgian territory.
Mr Biden’s call was delivered in a speech made to the parliament of Georgia where he arrived from Ukraine on Wednesday evening on a trip intended to reassure the two Nato-aspirant states that the US will not abandon them in the interests of renewing its relationship with Russia.
An enforced calm descended on Georgian capital Tbilisi as police blocked off central streets hours before Mr Biden’s arrival. Hundreds lined out waving US and Georgian flags and banners saying “Don’t forget us!” and “We count on you!” In his speech, which drew several standing ovations, Mr Biden reiterated the US’s unwavering support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, echoing President Barack Obama’s firm championing of the former Soviet state’s independence during his trip to Moscow in July.
The efforts of the Obama administration to reset relations with Russia “have not, will not and cannot” come at the expense of Georgia, the vice-president said. But he also made clear to Georgia that there was no military option for winning back its rebel regions of South Ossetia, over which last year’s war erupted, and Abkhazia.
Yesterday Russia warned that it intends to stop Georgia rearming and will consider enacting sanctions on any country which helps it acquire weapons. “We will continue to prevent the rearming of Saakashvili’s regime and will take concrete measures against this,” its deputy foreign minister told Moscow’s Itar Tass news agency.
Mr Biden’s visit comes amid fears that Russia is preparing for a new war, carrying out military exercises close to the Georgian border and forcing the departure of international observer missions from the Black Sea state.
Georgia has expressed its desire for the US to help it acquire advanced defensive weapons and to join the European Union Monitoring Mission, which is observing the ceasefire around Georgia’s de facto borders with South Ossetia and Abkhazia. So far the US has committed to helping it to strengthen its defences only, focusing on training and planning.
At a banquet Mr Biden made a toast to Georgia’s freedom, lauding the Rose Revolution, the popular street protests which swept Mr Saakashvili to power in 2003 and which prompted George Bush to dub the Caucasus state a “beacon of liberty” when he visited Tbilisi in 2005.
But in his speech to parliament Mr Biden delivered a strongly worded call for strengthened democratic reforms in Georgia, where demonstrations, which at their height saw tens of thousands take to the streets calling for Mr Saakashvili’s resignation, have been in progress for three months.
Mr Biden met opposition politicians who accuse the Georgian president of breaking the promises of the revolution, mishandling the war and consolidating an authoritarian hold on power.