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U.S. Pledges $1B in Aid for Georgia
WASHINGTON President George W. Bush on Wednesday said the U.S. will send an extra $1 billion to Georgia to help the pro-Western former Soviet republic in the wake of Russia's invasion. "Georgia has a strong economic foundation and leaders with an impressive record of reform," Bush said in a statement. "Our additional economic assistance will help the people of Georgia recover from the assault on their country, and continue to build a prosperous and competitive economy."Vice President Dick Cheney, due in Georgia on Thursday, planned to make the massive aid package a major highlight of his discussions with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. Cheney, in Azerbaijan on Wednesday, is on a tour of three former Soviet republics that are wary of Russia's intentions in what Moscow likes to call its "near abroad" and what Cheney termed "the shadow of the Russian invasion of Georgia." "The free world cannot allow the destiny of a small independent country to be determined by the aggression of a larger neighbor," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters at the State Department in a simultaneous announcement with Bush. She mocked Russia for its recognition of the two separatist regions in Georgia that are at the heart of the conflict that broke out last month, and for its failure to garner international backing. Almost no one followed suit, I might note. It isn't really an impressive list to have Abkhazia and South Ossetia recognize each other," she said. Also in tandem with Bush, the International Monetary Fund announced it has agreed to lend Georgia $750 million for economic recovery. The administration is delaying an announcement on some sort of punishment of Russia for its actions against Georgia and its refusal thus far to comply with a French-brokered cease-fire. However, the decision to shower tiny Georgia with such substantial aid and have Cheney talk about it in Moscow's backyard will likely be seen by the Kremlin as highly provocative, if not a punitive measure in and of itself. Cheney made a point in Azerbaijan of saying that Washington has "a deep and abiding interest" in the region's stability. Bush said the money will meet humanitarian needs, such as helping to resettle families that were displaced. The U.S. already has provided $30 million in humanitarian relief since the conflict began. The United States has sent two military ships bearing aid to Georgia, and the USS Mount Whitney the flagship of the Navy's 6th Fleet steamed through the Dardanelles early Wednesday and was expected to pass through the Bosporus later in the day. The new funds are also aimed at helping impoverished Georgia, wedged between Russia and Turkey on the Black Sea, to rebuild infrastructure and boost an economy that has been growing but is nowhere near grown. Rice said that $570 million of the funds will be made available in the remaining months of the Bush administration. That leaves a sizable portion $430 million up to the budgeting discretion of a future Congress and the next White House occupant. Georgia wants to rebuild and modernize its badly routed military. Though U.S. officials emphasized that none of the current package was for military aid, there was no effort to rule that out for the future. Russia has accused the United States of delivering arms on the U.S. warships that have docked in Georgian ports with humanitarian supplies. Posted by: Steve White 2008-09-04 |
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