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Rice: U.S. to Give $1 Billion to 'Help Georgia Sustain Itself'
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said "the free world" must help Georgia after its war with Russia.
(By Kevin Wolf -- Associated Press)
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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Most of those troops have withdrawn, although Russian forces remain in some strategic locations, including the Black Sea port of Poti.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.
