| Biden: No Georgian Military Option for Reclaiming Breakaway Regions | |
23 July 2009 |
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| Georgian opposition supporters attend a rally in Tbilisi during the visit of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, 22 Jul 2009 |
Biden's comments came Thursday in an address to the Georgian parliament. He called on the global community not to follow Russia in recognizing independence in the pro-Russian Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. He also urged Russia to abide by a cease-fire that ended the brief 2008 Russian-Georgian conflict, and he reaffirmed U.S. support for Georgia's NATO aspirations.
Biden's address came on the last day of a three-day mission to Georgia and Ukraine aimed at highlighting U.S. backing for the two former Soviet republics.
Earlier Thursday, Biden held closed-door talks with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
A senior U.S. official said the vice president urged Mr. Saakashvili to do more to strengthen democratic reforms. Biden later met with opposition leaders who are pressing Mr. Saakashvili to resign.
Earlier Thursday, Russia's deputy foreign minister, Grigory Karasin, said Russia will take "concrete measures" to prevent Georgia's rearmament. He said Moscow will consider breaking off "military-technical" and military-economic cooperation" with any states supplying Georgia with weapons.
August will mark a year since Russian troops swept into Georgia. Georgian opposition leaders have accused Mr. Saakashvili of mishandling the conflict and accuse him of authoritarian practices.
For his part, Mr. Saakashvili says he will not step down before his term ends in 2013. This week, he announced a series of election reforms aimed at giving the opposition a greater voice.
Biden arrived in Georgia Wednesday from Ukraine, where he promised continued U.S. support for Ukraine's bid NATO entry bid as well as for its effort to lift itself out of dependency on Russia for energy supplies.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
VOA
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