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Us pressuring russia to withdraw georgia troops { January 26 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/26/international/europe/26POWE.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/26/international/europe/26POWE.html
January 26, 2004
With Powell on Hand, Georgians Install a New Leader
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
TBILISI, Georgia, Jan. 25 — Pledging to end corruption and seek an end to his nation's long-running wars of secession, Mikhail Saakashvili took office as president of Georgia on Sunday in ceremonies that accorded special honors to the United States and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
Tens of thousands of Georgians applauded Mr. Saakashvili, a 36-year-old former city council president who studied and practiced law in the United States in the 1990's, at the faded yellow stone Parliament building where two months ago he led a successful uprising to oust President Eduard A. Shevardnadze.
In the pale afternoon sunshine, and with the snow-draped peaks of the Caucasus mountains visible in the distance, the area in front of Parliament was filled with patriotic and martial music and an air of quiet optimism that could be felt in other parts of the city.
Helicopters dropped rose petals, a salute to the new president's triumphant entry into Mr. Shevardnadze's office in November carrying a rose symbolizing his peaceful intentions. Mr. Shevardnadze resigned after protesters charged that a parliamentary election held in November had been rigged in favor of his party.
Mr. Saakashvili repeatedly asserted that, despite what he called Russia's unhelpful role in Georgia's secessions and its continued unwanted troop presence in the country, Georgia had no interest in antagonizing leaders in Moscow.
"We don't need Russia to be our enemy," he said in his inaugural address. "Today as my first act, I am offering a friendly hand to Russia, and I am waiting for a friendly response." The comment brought a burst of applause from the crowd.
Though many dignitaries from around the world and the region were in attendance, including the Russian foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, only Mr. Powell was invited to appear at Mr. Saakashvili's first event afterward, a town hall session at which he and the new president answered questions and pledged to expand their friendship.
The new president said at the town hall session that Mr. Powell's presence sent "a very important message" of friendship to Georgia.
"We are a proud people," he added. "We have a very important legacy, but we are also keen to learn from other nations, including the United States."
Mr. Saakashvili opened his inaugural speech by declaring that he would represent all of Georgia's ethnic and regional groups. In a meeting with foreign journalists on Saturday night, he said the path to end the movements by three regions in Georgia to secede was through negotiations with Russia, which he said had supported them with military aid.
The subject of Russia placed Mr. Powell in a careful balancing act between warm expressions of friendship for Georgia and repeated assurances that the United States had no ambitions to undercut Russian interests in a region historically locked in Russia's grip.
At virtually every encounter with Georgians, Mr. Powell was asked first to comment on the Russian refusal to withdraw troops that have been here, particularly in the breakaway province of Abkhazia, since Georgia was part of the old Soviet Union, and on whether the United States had Georgia in mind for bases of its own.
Every time, the secretary repeated the same formula: that the Bush administration was pressing Russia to live up to its commitments, made in 1999, to withdraw troops in a timely way, and that the United States had no designs on Georgia for any bases.
The small training mission of fewer than 100 military advisers here to help Georgia battle terrorism and insurgents in Abkhazia is about to end, Mr. Powell said.
But the questions for Mr. Powell showed that many Georgians still clearly expect an increased American military role, especially because Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was in Georgia only six weeks ago, saying, "We stand ready to assist Georgia" to battle its secession movements.
Georgia's location in the unstable Caucasus area, a corridor between Russia and the Middle East, is a main reason why the United States wants close relations. Another is the importance of an oil pipeline to open next year that will link Azerbaijan in the east to Turkey in the west.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Powell met with Mr. Shevardnadze, who is still living in the house that was his residence as president. The secretary went out of his way to praise the former president as "a great historical figure" because of his role as foreign minister of the Soviet Union in its final days and because he abdicated power peacefully last year.
American leaders, including former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, had played a role in persuading Mr. Shevardnadze to cede power peacefully and keep his official residence, which meant the new president had to build a new one.
Speaking to foreign journalists on Friday night, Mr. Saakashvili said the former president's family had benefited from corrupt kickbacks but that he "personally would not like to see Shevardnadze tried or prosecuted for anything." He added that he could not stand in the way of the law, however.
Mr. Powell said the United States "will do everything we can to see if we cannot find peaceful ways to resolve" Georgia's problems with secessionist states and Russian troop presence. But once again he declined to criticize secessionist leaders or the Russians, except to say that he would continue to press them to live up to their commitments to withdraw.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
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