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Bush Voices Support to Georgian President Amid Political Crisis
The U.S. President George W. Bush phoned his Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze on Friday, voicing support to the latter, who sacked his entire cabinet Thursday under pressure of mass protests in the capital city of Tbilisi, Russian news reports said.
Bush said the U.S. supported Shevardnadze's efforts to eradicate corruption, while pledging all possible assistance for "his struggle for democracy and freedom in Georgia."
Shevardnadze said his decision to dissolve the government may have been a tough step, but "I should do all I could to confirm that the way to democracy and freedom is irreversible."
Acting U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Phil Ramler on the same day also voiced full support to Shevardnadze.
The immediate cause of the cabinet's ouster was the security service's attempted raid on the independent Rustavi 2 television station earlier this week on suspicion of tax evasion.
On Thursday, thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the parliament in a political protest, triggering a full-fledged political crisis in Georgia.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told a Friday press conference that Moscow hopes "Georgia's political forces will find an early solution to their crisis, by political means in accordance with the constitution."
Coinciding with President Vladimir Putin's Thursday statement, Ivanov said Moscow is closely following developments in Georgia, but stressing it is "its internal affair."
Protesters continued their rally Friday, as the number had surged to about 800 by the afternoon from less than 100 in the morning.
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