Georgia Proposes ‘New Mechanics’ for Relations with Russia

President Mikheil Saakashvili proposed to set up a joint Russian-Georgian anti-terrorism center to help be part of the “mechanics of new relations” between the two countries.

“The time has come for Georgia and Russia to enter a new stage of cooperation that will have as its goal the defeat of this common enemy [terrorism],” Saakashvili said, while speaking at the UN General Assembly Session on September 21.

“The mechanics of a new relationship with Russia means pooling our resources and efforts to create a joint anti-terrorism center to conquer our common threat. It means expanding joint border patrols to the entire Russian/Georgian frontier, so that no holes are left exposed,” he added.

The Georgian President said that these efforts will require greater sharing of information, intelligence, and a greater degree of trust – “all of which Georgia stands ready to conduct.”

“In order to replace mistrust and misperceptions that sometimes derail our progress, Georgia today proposes to establish more discussion between Russia and Georgia through joint bodies, where bilateral issues and misgivings could be regularly discussed and considered,” Mikheil Saakashvili said.

He also added that Russia and Georgia should together consider issues such as protection of the rights of Russian citizens now living in Georgia, “so that no inhabitant of Georgia will ever feel forgotten or unprotected.”

Most of the residents of Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetian and Abkhazian regions are now the citizens of the Russian Federation.

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