September 21, 2006
Assistant Secretary Fried: Press Availability Following NATO Ministerial
Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, shared brief remarks and fielded questions following the NATO Ministerial in New York City on September 21, 2006.
Assistant Secretary Fried reported that during the Ministerial, “There was strong support at the table for Georgia’s new Intensified Dialogue with NATO and support for Georgia’s continued reforms and for a peaceful resolution of some of the regional disputes with separatist regimes in Georgia.”
When questioned about Georgia’s stability, Assistant Secretary Fried reminded those in attendance just how much Georgia has achieved since the Rose Revolution in 2003. He said that Georgia’s economic progress, once on the road to failure, is now “remarkably better.” He also pointed out that Georgia is rated one of the better places to do business, with “the greatest level of improvement in the business climate that I can recall.”
Assistant Secretary Fried was not slow in acknowledging the long road ahead of Georgia, but said that the newly Intensified Dialogues with NATO will “give Georgia the confidence it needs to pursue peaceful and democratic, peaceful diplomatic approaches to resolving all of those conflicts…” He also stated that Moscow “can very much be part of the solution here and we want to work closely with the Russians to promote peaceful solutions.”
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