With Georgia's democratic development under heavy scrutiny, Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze recently visited the United States to shore up support for President Mikheil Saakashvili's reformist administration. In talks with US government officials and members of Congress, Burjanadze presented conflict resolution in South Ossetia and Abkhazia as a critical component of the Georgian leadership's democratization agenda.

Securing a peaceful end to Georgia's differences with the separatist-minded regions is a top goal for the Saakashvili administration. Western and Georgian officials alike have claimed that, without a negotiated settlement, Georgia's integration into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other Euro-Atlantic institutions could falter, foreign direct investment could remain elusive, and the corruption and criminal activity that accompany insecure borders could increase.

With those stakes in mind, both Burjanadze and Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, on a visit to the US capital two weeks ago, urged US leaders to exert diplomatic pressure on Russia to play a "neutral" role in both conflicts and further the chances for peace. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Barring success on that front, Georgian officials hope that Washington will be willing to overlook any potential unresolved conflicts when considering Georgia's democratization progress, and the country's expected bid for NATO membership. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Burjanadze conveyed a similar message at the July 1-5 annual session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Parliamentary Assembly in Washington. A July 5 resolution adopted by the assembly called on Russia to "facilitate and ensure dialogue between conflicting parties" in Abkhazia.

In a July 1 interview, Burjanadze said that conflict resolution has emerged as the main challenge for the Saakashvili administration "because everyone in Georgia expects from Saakashvili and our government that the conflicts will be solved."

After talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and various State Department and Pentagon officials, as well as members of Congress, on ways to "further support Georgia's democratic evolution," Burjanadze expressed confidence that Washington would show greater interest in the South Ossetia peace plan presented by Saakashvili to the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly in January 2005.

"I asked our American friends to be involved in this peaceful solution more deeply—to try to find a peaceful solution as quickly as possible" for the sake of the "normal development of the country." The proposal is scheduled for further discussion at a conference of experts and government officials in Batumi, Georgia on July 10-11.

The United States has shown a growing desire to support Georgia in the Caucasus country's contentious relations with Russia. Burjanadze told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on June 30 that intervention by the US Congress and the Bush administration, as well as support from the international community, made possible Georgia's May 30 agreement with the Kremlin on the withdrawal of two Russian military bases from Georgian territory by 2008. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Additional forms of assistance for Georgia's reform process are in the offing. Georgia will receive $300 million—a $100 million increase from initial projections—from The Millennium Challenge Account, a US government-sponsored program designed to reduce poverty through economic development, Lasha Shanidze, chief executive officer of Millennium Challenge Georgia, told EurasiaNet on July 1. Funds are expected to begin arriving by the fall of 2005.

For the Georgian government, the funds come as a welcome respite from recent political turmoil over a cabinet reshuffle, the passage of a controversial election law, street protests, and a brawl in parliament that has tainted Georgia's reformist image. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Opposition parties argue that a July 1 law – under which Tbilisi's mayor will be selected by the City Council, rather than via direct election -- could lead to a "one-party dictatorship." [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].The use of riot police to put down an impromptu June 30 street protest in Tbilisi at the arrest of three prominent athletes for alleged extortion has only added to those outcries. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Burjanadze defended the Saakashvili administration's democratization record. "You can't say it [Georgia] is a paradise of democracy, but we are trying to do our best," she said. "Georgia is really democratic, but we need to make this process irreversible—and we will do this."

Commenting on opposition criticism that Georgia is headed toward "quasi-authoritarianism," Burjanadze argued that "every normal country needs a strong president