Meeting of revolutionaries
What kind of heritage can Yushchenko and Saakashvili be proud of?
On Nov. 19, 2009, Presidents Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine and President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia had a very productive day in Kyiv. After a talk in private at the Horodetsky House, they laid flowers at the 1932–33 Holodomor Victim Memorial and opened a new building of the Georgian Embassy in Ukraine. They also took part in a presentation of the Free Industrial Zone project for Poti, Georgia.
This visit of the Georgian president might seem quite an ordinary event. Yet several circumstances allow one to single it out from among other summits in Kyiv. First, both Yushchenko and Saakashvili are leaders of two revolutions, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, and the Rose Revolution in Georgia.
Second, both presidents believe that integration into Euro-Atlantic structures is the foundation for national security and territorial integrity of their countries. Besides, due to various reasons, they have problems in their relations with the Kremlin.
The visit is out of the ordinary also for a personal reason, which added to the warm atmosphere of the reunion: the two presidents are related, because Yushchenko is godfather to Saakashvili’s younger son. Both also see eye to eye on the August 2008 war in the Caucasus. Ukraine backs Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and does not recognize the self-proclaimed republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Ukrainian president emphasized this again at the joint press conference.
“Relations with Georgia are of special importance for us... We know how complicated it is to establish a nation’s sovereignty and how difficult it can be to realize the key principles of statehood, starting with territorial integrity. We always stand by Georgia in this and other issues,” said Yushchenko.
The Georgian leader, in his turn, replied that his visit to Ukraine was a good opportunity to discuss a set of problems that are vital for both countries. He also spoke highly of Ukraine’s support for Georgia and, in particular, Yushchenko’s visit to Tbilisi during the Russo-Georgian war in August 2008.
It is worth mentioning that the Georgian president started his speech at the press conference in Ukrainian. Saakashvili also noted that the opening of the new embassy building was an important landmark in the context of developing mutual relations between our nations.
Indeed, there is a lot in common between Ukraine and Georgia, as well as between Yushchenko and Saakashvili. Most citizens in both countries stood up for democracy, freedom of speech and assembly and backed these two leaders. Both Ukrainians and Georgians pinned their hopes on them. Last year, President Saakashvili passed an important exam: he was re-elected president for another term. Yushchenko is to take a similar test on Jan. 17, 2010, and there are serious doubts as to his ability to follow suit. Another important question is: Will Ukrainians be able to properly assess the heritage of the Orange Revolution, namely its democratic achievements?
