Saakashvili still spreading the word

The President of Georgia and members of his Government are still attending the UN summit, where they are meeting various international bigwigs.

On September 25 President Saakashvili met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss further cooperation. It was reported that the settlement of the so-called frozen conflicts was discussed at this behind-closed-doors meeting, and it was agreed that Georgia and the UN would continue to work closely together to achieve a meaningful peace settlement. Saakashvili also met German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who once again expressed his support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. At the beginning of September Steinmeier called for an international probe into the conflict in Georgia's breakaway provinces.

Saakashvili and his Ukrainian counterpart Victor Yushchenko, who is also attending the UN General Assembly, have held meetings with US Republican Presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin. The President of Georgia stressed the importance of US aid and support to Georgia and thanked the country for “assisting people who desire freedom and independence,” as TV Rustavi2 reports. The Foreign Minister of Georgia, Eka Tkeshelashvili, the Minister for Economic Development, Ekaterine Sharashidze, and the UN Ambassador to the UN, Irakli Alasania, also attended the meeting. In his UN speech Victor Yushchenko had stressed that Ukraine does not recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and firmly adheres to the principle of the territorial integrity of Georgia. “We denounce the forcible annexation of Georgian territories,” he said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has held her first meeting with the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov, since the Russian-Georgian war in August, 2008. The two parties discussed Iran's and North Korea's nuclear programmes, in addition to the recent developments in the Caucasus. After the meeting, Rice termed the Russian invasion of Tskhinvali and its subsequent recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia a “serious mistake.” Lavrov stated: “I agreed that we have to be pragmatic. We disagree over the Caucasus, but need not make this a stumbling block ... Russian-US cooperation has crucial significance, but after the very emotional reaction of the West, and especially the US, to events in the Caucasus returning our relations to pragmatism will take some time”.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried has said that Russia had failed to gain international support for its actions in the Caucasus and this had resulted in the demise of Moscow’s authority. Lavrov however stressed that “Russia does not consider itself isolated.”