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GEORGIAN PRESIDENT RULES OUT MILITARY FORCE AGAINST
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AFP, 24 Feb 04
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on Tuesday vowed not
to use the military to unify his divided country as he
praised the United States' training of Georgian troops.
"I have no intention to intervene militarily anywhere in
Georgia," Saakashvili said in a speech at Johns Hopkins
University's international studies program. "I don't
believe in military solutions."
Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away after the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but the Georgian
president said he would seek peaceful means to reunify his
country.
The United States will begin training 5,000 Georgian troops
in April, Saakashvili told Georgian television Tuesday,
according to Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency. The United
States launched the Train and Equip program in May 2002 for
thousands of Georgian troops.
"One of the major contributions by the United States is the
training" of Georgian troops, Saakashvili said at Johns
Hopkins University.
Creating a strong Georgian military "is the best thing we
can do for the region," he said, adding that Georgia, which
has sent troops to Iraq, will continue being a key ally in
the United States' "war on terror."
Georgia wants to join the NATO alliance and the European
Union.
Saakashvili is meeting with President George W. Bush
Wednesday, when they are expected to discuss terrorism and
energy issues. The United States backs the development of
an oil pipeline through the Caucasus country.
"Georgia has a special relationship with the United States
of America," said Saakashvili, who studied at New York's
Columbia University and worked in a New York law firm.
Saakashvili was elected in January with 97 percent of the
vote, two months after he led mass protests to oust Eduard
Shevardnadze, whose government was accused of rigging
parliamentary elections.
His peaceful movement to overthrow Shevardnadze was dubbed
the "rose revolution."
While he praised US relations with Georgia, Saakashvili
noted his efforts to improve relations with Russia, which
maintains military bases in Georgia.
"The door is open for new and more positive relations," he
said. "We are ready to meet half way with Russians on many
issues."
Relations will improve "as long as Russia remembers one
thing," he said. "We have our national sovereignty."
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