VZCZCXRO8762
OO RUEHDBU
DE RUEHNO #0148/01 0661714
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 071714Z MAR 07
FM USMISSION USNATO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0583
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000148 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2017 
TAGS: NATO PREL MOPS GG
SUBJECT: NATO/GEORGIA: NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MEETING 
WITH GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SAAKASHVILI 
 
REF: JONES-RPM E-MAIL 02/28/07 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4 
 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (U)  Below is the text of a report distributed to NATO 
Allies by the NATO Secretary-General on his February 27 
meeting with Georgian President Saakashvili at NATO 
Headquarters. 
 
¶2.  (C) Begin Text:  President Saakashvili visited Brussels 
from 26-27 February 2007 for meetings with NATO and the EU. 
This was President Saakashvili's second visit to NATO 
Headquarters, the previous visit coming in Spring 2004, when 
he delivered Georgia's Individual Partnership Action Plan 
(IPAP) Presentation Document to the Council. 
 
During our meeting, I noted that the Intensified Dialogue 
(ID) process was off to a good start, and that it was 
important for Georgia to use IPAP and ID to the fullest 
extent possible.  I briefed President Saakashvili on the main 
findings of the IPAP assessment team visit from 19-22 
February.  I noted that the assessment team saw good progress 
in many areas, but at the same time several shortcomings were 
identified that would need to be addressed as a matter of 
priority.  I noted, as I have in the past, that further steps 
in the NATO-Georgia relationship will be based on Georgia's 
performance in meeting reform goals, in particular those laid 
out in the IPAP. 
 
I also informed President Saakashvili on the main outcomes of 
the Riga Summit, in particular highlighting the strong 
support for Georgia's territorial integrity, while at the 
same time urging continued commitment to peaceful conflict 
resolution.  I noted that Allies appreciate Georgia's 
contributions to international peacekeeping and peace support 
operations, which show that Georgia is aiming to be a net 
contributor to regional and international security.  In 
particular, I welcomed Georgia's willingness to make a 
contribution to NATO's mission in Afghanistan, and expressed 
my hope that arrangements regarding this contribution could 
be finalized shortly. 
 
President Saakashvili provided me with an overview of 
regional dynamics in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.  He 
said that Georgia was trying to be a regional leader, showing 
through example that reforms work.  He expressed his view 
that other regional countries like Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan 
were becoming more confident, and were beginning to pursue 
their own foreign policies independent of Moscow. 
 
The President expressed his strong belief that Russian 
sanctions against Georgia were actually helping the Georgian 
economy in the long run, as Georgian producers were 
diversifying their markets and improving product quality.  He 
said that he expected Georgian-Russian relations to stabilize 
following the tensions last fall, and expressed his hope that 
Georgia and Russia could build a relationship based on 
pragmatism and respect for sovereignty.  The President said 
that Georgia had seen real benefits from the policy of 
"laying low" the past few months and not overreacting to 
Russian provocations, and that this policy would continue. 
He did express some concern, however, that relations with 
Georgia (including on South Ossetia and Abkhazia) might 
become an issue in the 2008 presidential elections, which 
could harm bilateral relations once again. 
 
President Saakashvili reiterated Georgia's full commitment to 
pursue peaceful conflict resolution with regard to South 
Ossetia and Abkhazia.  He said that Georgia would continue to 
make concrete proposals aimed at resolution of the conflicts, 
and was already engaged in infrastructure rehabilitation 
activities in both regions.  He said that Georgia appreciated 
the Alliance's "principled" stand on the territorial 
integrity of Georgia, and expressed his hope that the EU 
would become more engaged on helping to resolve the 
conflicts, both through facilitating confidence-building 
projects but also through pushing for a change to the 
negotiating formats. 
 
President Saakashvili expressed his country's continued 
commitment to join the Alliance as soon as possible, and said 
that Georgia would take whatever technical steps were 
necessary to improve IPAP performance.  He reiterated the 
Georgian Foreign Minister's invitation for the NAC to visit 
Georgia in the fall of 2007, and expressed his belief that 
this would make a substantial contribution to the Intensified 
Dialogue process. 
 
President Saakashvili also highlighted Georgia's continued 
commitment to international peacekeeping and peace support 
 
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operations, and said that Georgia's commitment to KFOR would 
continue.  He said discussions were ongoing with several 
Allies regarding a Georgian commitment to ISAF, and said that 
he hopes to finalize these discussions and to enable a 
deployment in the next few months.  In particular, he noted 
that the Georgian MOD is developing a mountain warfare 
training center, and that this might be a good venue for 
training specialists of the Afghan National Army. 
 
Finally, regarding Ukraine, President Saakashvili expressed 
optimism about the long-term direction of the country.  He 
said that Ukraine is currently like a boat without a rudder. 
It does not have firm direction, but it is nonetheless 
drifting slowly towards the West.  He said that while the "go 
slow" policy of Prime Minister Yanukovich was unlikely to 
change anytime soon, Yanukovich had shown increasing 
pragmatism over the past few months. End Text. 
NULAND