euro|topics - Georgia: a small country with big problems

20/07/2008

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Main focus of Thursday, May 22, 2008

Georgia: a small country with big problems

President Mikheil Saakashvili's party has won a clear victory in Georgia's early parliamentary elections. But the political and economic problems facing the small republic in the Caucasus are far from over. What do the election results portend for Georgia's relationship with Europe?

Postimees - Estonia

According to the Estonian newspaper Georgia's problems are far from being solved, even though the party led by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has apparently managed to win a clear parliamentary majority: "The country's citizens are primarily concerned about unemployment, and Georgia's big neighbour Russia is threatening the country because Moscow opposes its bid to join NATO. Georgia wants to join the Western alliance to have a counterweight against Russia, which supports the secessionist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But now Georgia is standing at a crossroads, and it is the Western allies who will determine which path it takes. The last NATO summit failed to produce a concrete timetable for membership and Georgia wants clear commitment. But if the country wants the backing of the West for a solution to the Abkhazia conflict, Tbilisi must not stray from its path towards democracy." (22/05/2008)

Ziniu Radijas - Lithuania

Ceslovas Iskauskas reflects on the role the West could play in Georgia: "Every initiative taken in the Caucasus needs Russia's approval. This may anger Tiblisi, but it is the reality in the region. Moscow wants to bind the secessionist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia closer to it, and for that reason rejected last Friday's UN resolution aimed at easing the refugees' return to Abkhazia. ... Most observers do not believe there is a threat of a new civil war, because the Georgians, the Abkhazians and the Russians all want to avoid that outcome. But both sides are trying to implicate other countries in the conflict. Tiblisi is calling on Washington and Brussels, and Sukhumi wants more help from Moscow. It is difficult to say whether the local population will get the peace they have been longing for if their conflict once again lands on the international agenda." (22/05/2008)

Tagesanzeiger - Switzerland

Although Saakashvili's pro-Western United National Movement has won the parliamentary elections, the president remains controversial, the paper writes: "The opposition is speaking of electoral fraud and has announced it will stage protests in Tiblisi. ... Saakashvili has been touted as the country's hope for democracy ... but his image has been tarnished in recent months. In November he imposed a nine-day state of emergency after tens of thousands of people demonstrated against him for several days." (21/05/2008)

» To the complete press review of Thursday, May 22, 2008

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