Int'l community welcomes Shevardnadze's resignation

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, November 24, 2003

Int'l community welcomes Shevardnadze's resignation

The world community has showed its satisfaction and appreciation for Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation in a bid to defuse a three-week political crisis.

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The world community has showed its satisfaction and appreciation for Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation in a bid to defuse a three-week political crisis.

The president's resignation was announced after several rounds of talks between Shevardnadze and opposition leaders under the mediation of Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. The crisis was sparked by the disputed Nov. 2 parliament elections, which the opposition accused of fraud in favor of Shevardnadze's bloc.

Gennady Seleznyov, speaker of the Russian State Duma, or the lower house of the parliament, gave positive assessments of Shevardnadze's resignation, saying the decision was "the wisest move on his part in that situation."

He called on the provisional authorities in Georgia to set a date for new presidential and parliamentary elections and properlyconduct them.

Ex-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said Shevardnadze made the right decision by resigning from his post.

"I know Eduard Shevardnadze very well. He is not a coward and probably understood that the moment had come for him to make this step so that Georgia will not break up," said Gorbachev.

The United States claimed to offer support to the ongoing political transition in Georgia, saying that it is ready to work with interim President Nino Burdzhanadze.

"We look forward to working with Interim President Burdzhanadzein her effort to maintain the integrity of Georgia's democracy as she strives to ensure that this change in government follows the constitution," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

"The US supports the stability and sovereignty of a democratic Georgia and is committed to helping the Georgian people emerge from this crisis," Boucher said.

The European Union's (EU) security chief Javier Solana also praised Shevardnadze's decision to step down as key to achieve a peaceful power transition in the country.

Solana told the German television of ARD that Shevardnadze is a"very respectable man" who made a "very wise decision."

The EU official called on all parties of the country to honor their commitment of seeking new elections soon.

Like Western governments, international oil companies kept watch on the development in Georgia, who plays an important role in the exploitation of the oil-rich Caspian Sea.

"At this stage it is about the political system in the country and we just have to observe, like everybody else," said a spokesman for oil giant BP.

The German government said it would welcome ousted Shevardnadzeif he decided to stay in Germany.

"Should Eduard Shevardnadze decide to come to Germany, he would be welcome, not least because of his merits on the German unification," said Bela Anda, spokesman for the German government.

According to German press, Shevardnadze had allegedly bought a villa in Germany's southern region of Baden-Baden through a middle-man.

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