april 4 , 2007
Transcript
Post Meeting Press Availability
U.S. Congressman David Price and Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze.
Georgian Parliament
April 4, 2007, 11:30 a.m.
Speaker Burjanadze: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome first of all. I would like to particularly welcome our guests from the United States Congress. It is a great honor for us to host such an important delegation. This once again emphasizes the importance of our partnership between our two countries. It is significant that the congressmen that we are hosting today represent the House Democracy Assistance Commission. As you all know the Georgian Parliament announced its intention to strengthen the Parliament’s capability. Once again, it is very important to have today such an important delegation from the United States.
One thing that I would also like to add: for us it is extremely important to have a good partnership, relationship with the United States, with the Congress of the United States, not only because we share foreign relations priorities, but also because we have shared values and in this regard it is extremely important that these shared values are related not only to the country itself but to the region. The assistance offered to strengthen democracy is extremely important for us, because we offer our future generations the counties that we would like to build. Thank you very much again for offering us assistance in the sphere of democracy.
Price: Thank you Madam Speaker. It’s our privilege and pleasure to be with you in Georgia; to meet with you and now to have the prospect of two full days of meetings with your colleagues in the Parliament. I’m joined by two fellow members of the Commission, Bill Shuster from Pennsylvania, Republican Member of Congress, and Allyson Schwartz, from Pennsylvania, Democratic Member of Congress. Our Commission is extremely bipartisan. Indeed the work of building democracy is not a partisan issue. On the contrary, it depends on vigorous debates that are resolved in the House of Parliament rather than through less peaceful means. I must say that there have been some major partisan changes in the United States Congress in terms of leadership. One thing that has not changed, not changed in the least, is our friendship with Georgia and our determination to support Georgia and its struggle for democracy and our determination to extend a strong hand of friendship. The Democracy Assistance Commission is one way of doing this. It is a bipartisan group working with parliaments all over the World -- with a special historical emphasis on Central and Eastern Europe—Parliaments all over the World to help build effective representational institutions. So this will not be a typical congressional visit. We will be seeing the President and we will be talking, of course, about bilateral issues. But we’ll be focused in a very intense way on the ways that we can support one another as parliamentarians in developing the strength of our institutions. Madam Speaker, we appreciate your warm welcome. You had a very successful, well-publicized visit to our country a couple of weeks ago. We are happy to be here with you and to get to know your colleagues better and I hope to strengthen the bonds of friendship between our two institutions.
Speaker Burjanadze: Thank you again our dear guests and now your questions, please.
Question: There were reports this morning that America will engage in war with Iran and it also gave a date of April 6. For its part, Iran also stated that it will fight back and that it will also hit the United States and its allies. There were also reports that Georgia might give the United States airspace if the U.S. engages Iran with air strikes. How much do you anticipate that the U.S. will request use of Georgian airspace for this action?
Congressman Price: I must say that I know nothing of these reports, these rumors, and so it’s very difficult to comment on them apart from saying that I believe that there’s no truth in them.
Speaker Burjanadze: Moreover it is difficult for me [to comment on these reports] and this is one of several provocations that we’ve seen recently. I believe that there will be no attacks that would be announced beforehand. The United States, Georgia, and the entire world is interested in a peaceful solution to the problems pertaining to Iran and seeks solutions through talks.
Question: This question is for the United States Congressman as well as Madam Speaker. You arrived in Georgia from Ukraine. How do you assess the situation there?
Congressman Price: It’s true, we were in Ukraine at a very interesting time with still an uncertain outcome as to exactly what will transpire. Our visit to Ukraine reflects the policy of our government. We have reached out and maintained friendly ties with all elements of Ukrainian society and politics. We were not interjecting ourselves into the current struggle there. We have said, and I will reiterate, that this is a conflict that must be settled by peaceful means and by constitutional means. It’s a matter the Ukrainians must work out for themselves.
Speaker Bujanadze: As regards the events taking place in Ukraine, we are concerned and we are following events there with great interest. For the entire region and the entire world it is extremely important that this processes unfold in Ukraine in a peaceful manner and that the democratic process succeeds. Of course, it is very unpleasant to see this crisis but we do hope that democracy will prevail in Ukraine and that the solution will be based on democratic and western values. I should express my concerns about the revolutionary union in Ukraine and do believe that the issues will be solved democratically.
Question: First question is to the U.S. delegation. The Georgian Parliament is going to consider the initiative of [President Saakashvili] to create a temporary administrative unit in the Tskhinvali region of South Ossetia. [What is your position on this?] The second question is to Speaker Burjanadze. We see numerous delegations visiting Georgia. First there were Senators, and then there were State Department representatives and today House Representatives. Isn’t this all connected to the President’s South Ossetia initiative?
Congressman Price: I will address your question very briefly. [The President’s South Ossetia proposal] is not a piece of legislation that we understand well. It’s complicated; it has to do with longstanding issues in Georgia so we’re not here to pass any kind of judgment on that legislation or, for that matter, on the specifics of legislation at all. I should say that our mission has more to do with the parliamentary process, with the way that decisions are made, with the way that members [of parliament] represent the interests of their constituents, the kind of democracy within the institution [of parliament] that lets everyone have their say and bring things to a resolution in an inclusive way. Those are the kinds of things were focusing one, not the specifics of day-to-day legislation.
Speaker Burjanadze: As regards the initiative that is going to be considered by the Georgian Parliament tomorrow, the essence of the initiative is to solve the problem peacefully by way of negotiations. The idea, the essence, of this initiative is well supported by our partners, by the United States and by the international community. As regards how to bring it about, this is where our American friends differ. They never give us recommendations and they never advise how to proceed with day to day issues. As for the second question, as to why our American partners so frequently are visiting Georgia: it is only natural because we have a strategic partnership with our American friends. We are proud to have such close ties. This relationship is not focused on particular or specific issues or initiatives, but rather shared values and the support of a new democracy.
Question: The official purpose of this visit, as we know, is to strengthen the ties between the legislative bodies and to deepen this relationship. What is the state of this relationship currently and are there any new initiatives for the future.
The state of the relationship is very solid. Georgia is one of our first partners in the reconstituted Democracy Assistance Commission and we have already worked together on a number of matters. A group of Georgian Parliamentarians and staff have already visited last year so we’re making a return visit. In the meantime there have been consultations on the staff level. For example, before we arrived here we had an expert from the Library of Congress and an expert from our Budget Committee that have been working here with their staff counterparts in the Georgian Parliament. So the member exchanges are very, very important. But we also work on the substance of legislative operations and we have a lot to talk about with our Georgian friends. As I said, the bilateral issues, the kind of partnerships that our countries have at the broadest level and also some rather detailed ways that we can share experience in terms of good governance.
Speaker Burjanadze: I would like to take this opportunity and thank again our guests today for their support of Georgia in terms of democratic development. This is a bipartisan priority for the U.S. Congress. And I’m particularly pleased today that we are hosting Representative Price who was from the very beginning involved in the process of supporting democratic development in Georgia and remains in charge of supporting this process. This support is very valuable and greatly appreciated.
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