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"America is fully committed to Georgia's membership action plan for NATO and to its eventual membership in the alliance," Cheney said after meeting with Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili. "Georgia will be in our alliance," he said.
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U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney (L) shakes hands with Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi Sept. 4, 2008. |
Cheney slammed Russia's military action as an "illegitimate" attempt to change Georgia's borders "by force," saying they "have cast grave doubt on Russia's intentions and on its reliability as an international partner."
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U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney (L) listens to Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili during a news briefing in Tbilisi Sept. 4, 2008 |
Cheney's trip came on the heels of a White House announcement of a 1-billion-U.S.-dollar aid package to Tbilisi to "meet Georgia's humanitarian needs and to support its economic recovery."
The assistance "will help the people of Georgia recover from the assault on their country, and continue to build a prosperous and competitive economy," U.S. President George W. Bush said in a statement Wednesday.
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U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney speaks to the media after a meeting with Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi Sept. 4, 2008 |
Prior to the new aid package, the United States has provided nearly 30 million dollars in aid to Georgia since the conflict erupted, including 1,200 tons of food and other relief supplies, according to the White House.
After meeting Cheney, Saakashvili thanked the U.S. for its assistance to Georgia and said his country wants a dialogue with "all nations in the neighborhood and worldwide."
Cheney stayed in Georgia for about four hours and headed on to Ukraine on his four-nation tour that will also take him to Italy.
On Wednesday, he visited neighboring Azerbaijan, a resources-rich Caspian Sea nation that straddles major pipelines taking oil and gas to the West.
At a meeting Wednesday with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, Cheney said that the United States has "deep and abiding interests" in the security of the region.
"We must work with Azerbaijan and other countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia on additional routes for energy exports that ensure the free flow of resources," he said. "Energy security is essential to us all, and the matter is becoming increasingly urgent."