GEORGIA WELCOMES THE SECRETARY'S SPEECH ON

UNCLAS TBILISI 000155 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA WELCOMES THE SECRETARY'S SPEECH ON EUROPEAN SECURITY ¶1. (SBU) Government and non-governmental figures alike welcomed the Secretary's 29 January speech on European security. President Saakashvili's spokeswoman on 30 January noted that the remarks demonstrated Washington's support for Georgia. He welcomed the "unambiguous position and support" from the United States, and noted that this "firm policy" ensures that the United States will not allow Russia to allow the Caucasus to be dominated as part of a sphere of influence. The president also noted that the approach would not let the Kremlin "legalize ethnic cleansing" in its expulsion of "500,000" Georgians and the occupation of 20 percent of Georgian territory. Parliamentary opposition leader Giorgi Targamadze (Christian-Democratic Movement) was also positive, citing the speech's encouragement for Georgia and stressing that the Secretary's speech would serve as a reminder for Russia that Georgia would permanently be on the agenda. ¶2. (SBU) The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement supporting the positions laid out by the Secretary, particularly emphasizing the point that the cornerstone of European security was the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states." The MFA noted that the Secretary stated her belief that the second principle of European security was the "indivisibility of security," and that common goals are best pursued using existing institutions such as OSCE and NATO. Also emphasized was that the United States did not share Russia'ssense of insecurity over the expansion of NATO and the EU, believing that enlargement increased Russia's security and prosperity, and that NATO should remain open to any nation that aspires to be a member. OSCE received a prominent place in the statement as well, with the Secretary's comments about OSCE empowerment and U.S. proposals for strengthening the organization having particular resonance in the MFA statement, in light of the termination of the OSCE mission in Georgia in 2009. ¶3. (SBU) Georgian media stressed the Secretary's comments citing the need for Russia to honor the terms of the ceasefire agreement following the August 2008 war, and the refusal of the United States to recognize Russia's claims of independence for Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Liberal daily "24 Hours" reported that the speech signaled a change in U.S. foreign policy from a pragmatic approach to one based closer on common values with its allies. However, Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies expert Archil Gegeshidze disagreed, stating that there was nothing new in the speech in regards to its criticism of Russian policy in the former Soviet Union. Head of the European Research Center Kakha Gogolashvili said that the speech clearly set out the U.S. position on recent Russian proposals, and that it was a validation that one could not view Georgian security without considering the architecture of European security. There did not appear to be any negative comments about the speech detailed in the media. BASS