Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon has reported the details of the State Secretary`s trip to three states in South Caucasus at today`s briefing. Philip Gordon said that after Krakow, the Secretary would be visiting three South Caucasus countries, where she would have the opportunity to emphasize the importance of bilateral relations with Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, and to promote efforts to resolve regional conflicts and strengthen regional peace and stability.
On July 5th, the Secretary continues to Tbilisi, where she will meet President Saakashvili, Foreign Minister Vashadze, and members of the political opposition, as well as representatives of civil society and women's leaders. She will review the progress of the U.S.-Georgia strategic partnership as well as the results of the recent municipal elections.
`The President made it clear to President Medvedev last week and we've been consistent in noting that we respect Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and we call on Russia to abide by its commitments in the August, 2008 ceasefire, which not only called for the nonuse of force and an end to hostilities, but called upon the parties to move their military forces back to where they were before the conflict began. And that hasn't been done. And we've been absolutely clear and consistent from the start that we believe that should happen. There should be more transparency. You have transparency in undisputed Georgia. You have the EU monitoring mission. And I think that provides the world a window into what's going on there,` Gordon said.