BREAKING!! Cheney, in Tbilisi, Slams Russian Actions; U.S. sends flagship to Georgia; plans $1 billion in aid

By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 4, 2008; Page A12

The Bush administration announced a $1 billion aid package to Georgia yesterday, making the former Soviet republic one of the highest per capita recipients of U.S. economic assistance.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who unveiled the plan, drew a direct line between what she called Russia's irresponsible behavior in sending troops into Georgian territory last month and the need for "the free world" to "help Georgia sustain itself during these difficult times."

The announcement came on the eve of Vice President Cheney's arrival today in the Georgian capital of Tblisi, part of a three-nation tour demonstrating what he called the United States' "abiding interest" in the Caucasus region along Russia's southern border. Cheney stopped yesterday in Azerbaijan and will also visit Ukraine.

In a statement issued by the White House, President Bush said the United States is "prepared to help Georgia rebuild and regain its position as one of the world's fastest growing economies."

U.S. officials emphasized that the new plan includes no military aid. "There is zero military assistance component in this billion-dollar package," said Reuben Jeffery III, undersecretary of state for economic, energy and agricultural affairs.

He said the multiyear plan includes humanitarian assistance, reconstruction of physical damage to Georgian infrastructure during the recent conflict with Russia, and support for the economy.

"Now is not the time" to discuss military assistance, Jeffery said. He recently returned from a trip to Georgia assessing the level of funding it would need.

The aid will be divided into two phases, Rice told reporters at the State Department: $570 million from fiscal 2008 and 2009 funds, and $430 million she said she hopes the next administration will approve.

Rich Green, deputy director of U.S. foreign assistance, said that about two-thirds of the initial $570 million will be redirected from existing accounts, including the Millennium Challenge Account, which funds programs in countries whose governance has been judged democratic, and the Overseas Private Investment Corp. Although those funds have already been budgeted for other countries, he did not indicate where they would be taken from. The rest of the initial phase of the plan would require congressional reauthorization of funds.

Congress has supported the administration's strong backing for Georgia and criticism of Russia. Two weeks ago, on his return from a visit to Tblisi, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Democratic vice presidential nominee, called the Russian invasion "one of the most significant events to occur in Europe since the end of communism" and first proposed boosting U.S. aid to Georgia by $1 billion.

The assistance plan, assuming it is fully funded by this administration and the next, would exponentially increase U.S. aid to Georgia, which totaled about $64 million in fiscal 2008. Before last month's hostilities, Georgia's economic growth rate was among the highest in the region, with a gross domestic product of $10 billion last year, compared with $4 billion in 2003.

About a third of the U.S. assistance in 2008 was spent on training and equipping the Georgian military to meet NATO standards and to allow Georgia to continue contributing troops to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

The Pentagon has also sent a team to Georgia to assess its military needs. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew J. Bryza said any increased military assistance would await the Georgian government's determination of its future defense structure. Georgia's 33,000 troops fared poorly against Russia's far larger and better armed force.

Georgia's population is 4.6 million, and the first phase of the new package would total more than $100 per capita by the end of next fiscal year. In contrast, Ukraine, with a population of 47 million, was slated to receive $83 million in 2008 assistance, or the equivalent of $1.76 per capita. Azerbaijan, with 8 million people, received $26.8 million, or $3.35 per capita.

Washington's backing of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili comes as Western estrangement from Russia has escalated. The European Union this week condemned Moscow's recognition of the breakaway Georgian enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent countries.

The Europeans declined to adopt specific economic sanctions against Russia, saying there is "no desirable alternative to a strong relationship" between Europe and Moscow. The EU said it will "shortly" convene an international conference to assist reconstruction in Georgia. Bush and Rice said the aid package announced yesterday will constitute the U.S. contribution to the donor conference.

The International Monetary Fund said this week it will lend Georgia $750 million to replenish its foreign currency reserves. The government in Tblisi sold 12.8 percent of its reserves on international markets to prop up its currency after last month's incursion.

Russia has said its drive into Georgia was provoked by Georgian attacks on South Ossetian separatists. But it then sent thousands of armored troops, supported by airstrikes, deeper into Georgia.

Most of those troops have withdrawn, although Russian forces remain in some strategic locations, including the Black Sea port of Poti. U.S. naval vessels carrying humanitarian aid were rerouted last week to avoid encountering the Russians.

[link to www.washingtonpost.com]

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