Georgia, Ukraine Form "New Axis"

KIEV, Ukraine -- President Mikheil Saakashvili returned to Tbilisi from Kiev on Saturday, after a three day visit to Ukraine during which he discussed cooperation between the two countries and signed an agreement on strategic cooperation with Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko.

The two countries also signed an agreement of cooperation between the Black Sea regions of Odessa and Adjara, which according to Georgian media includes cooperation in trade, economic, technical, scientific and humanitarian issues.



Saakashvili was accompanied by Secretary of the National Security Council Gela Bezhuashvili, who signed a memorandum on mutual understanding between the National Security Councils of the two countries with his Ukrainian counterpart Piotr Poroshenko.

President Saakashvili, meanwhile, stressed Ukraine's importance in the region, saying Georgia considered Ukraine as the regional leader in economic, security and political issues as well as the "locomotive of European integration."

On Friday the two men signed a declaration on strategic cooperation that called for, among other items, mutual assistance in settling frozen conflicts in the region.

"The declaration we have signed reads that a new axis is being established from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. It is a very important strategic initiative," President Saakashvili stated.

The declaration also calls for demilitarization of the Black Sea region, utilization of energy transit potential, and reinforcement of humanitarian partnerships.

After the signing, Presidents Saakashvili and Yushchenko also discussed the forthcoming meeting of the leaders of GUUAM member countries - Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova - to be held on April 22 in the Moldovan capital Chisinau, which Romanian President Traian Basescu is also expected to attend despite not being a member of GUUAM. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, has suspended its membership and has not said it will attend the summit.

The presidential website cites him as saying, "We have cooperated with the Baltic States, Ukraine and Romania for a long time… This means that these countries have common interests." He added, "GUUAM member states strive for EU and NATO membership and we openly declare that."

"We are speaking about the re-establishment of the Baltic-Black Sea frame of stability," the president continued, stressing that such a union was not directed against any third country.

At a joint press briefing on March 25, Saakashvili and Yushchenko also commented on the events taking place in Kyrgyzstan, and called for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and also sought to downplay any strong connection between the Kyrgyz events and the revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine.

"We are not the exporters of revolution. Our revolutions were similar, but not because they were fabricated by someone; simply, the people reacted to injustice in a similar way," Saakashvili declared.

"Of course, this is an issue that must be solved within the country, but the issue of democracy and our sympathy towards restoring democracy in the country are of course international issues are well. All international observers described serious violations in the elections in Kyrgyzstan," the Georgian president added.

Yushchenko, meanwhile, called for a peaceful settlement of the conflict as the best way to put an end to the instability.

Saakashvili also met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, whom he invited to visit Georgia. She said that she would visit Russia only after Georgia.

"I received an invitation from the Georgian president to visit Georgia. I will certainly do so after overseeing the adoption of the state budget. For me Georgia is a unique and romantic country," Timoshenko said in an interview with the media, although she added that this would be her first visit to Georgia.

While in Kiev, Saakashvili was awarded the prize of Honorary Doctor from the National Taras Shevchenko University in Kiev.

2005 declared Year of Georgia

Saakashvili's visit concluded with a concert dedicated to the declaration of 2005 as the Year of Georgia in Ukraine at the Taras Shevchenko Opera and Ballet Theater. Sandra Roelofs, who accompanied her husband to Ukraine, agreed to a schedule of events to mark the 'Year of Georgia 2005.'

Before the opening of the concert the presidents of the two countries addressed the audience, both highlighting the friendship between the two courtiers.

Saakashvili said that the fight for democracy in the world would be stopped by nothing. "This striving towards democracy will not be stopped by any army or use of force. I think that this force will lead us to greater kindness and, as I have already mentioned, kindness always wins," he told the audience gathered in the theater.

He promised that Georgia would respond be creating a 'Year of Ukraine' in 2006. After the speech the two presidents viewed the concert in which only Georgian singers and musicians took part.

At the back of the stage were hung screens depicting the revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia.

At the end of the concert Georgia's First Lady also sang two Georgian songs Suliko and Verkhvis Potoltan together with Folk Rustavi.

In May, President of Ukraine Yuschenko is slated to visit Georgia for the opening ceremony of the Ukrainian house in Tbilisi.