Saakashvili to Pay Blitz Visit to Moldova

Alana Gagloeva, spokesperson to the President of Georgia, said Mikheil Saakashvili will stop in Moldova on his way to an official visit to Italy on March 2. This agreement was reached following a telephone conversation with Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin.

According to Gagloeva, Saakashvili will meet representatives from all political forces, in an apparent attempt to not to allow for the interpretation that his visit is an endorsement of Voronin in the upcoming March 6 parliamentary elections in Moldova.

Gagloeva pointed out that the meeting is not aimed at influencing the elections and that Saakashvili merely voices his support for elections based on “principles of freedom and independence, expressed in the Karpat Declaration [of Saakashvili and Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko].”

The Karpat Declaration alluded to a “third wave of democratization” based on the recent, peaceful revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine. Moldova is heading into elections which are likely to seal the country’s pro-Western course.

Gagloeva also said that the issues of re-vitalizing GUUAM would be discussed in Moldova. GUUAM is a coalition of Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova which was created in 1997 with US backing. Moldova has ignored GUUAM since Voronin came into office from the Communist party and tried to mend ties with Russia. Uzbekistan has also pulled out.

During the recent meeting with the Georgian Prime-Minister Zurab Nogaideli, President Yushchenko spoke of the need to re-vitalize regional cooperation within the GUUAM framework.