Parliament Hall

Tbilisi, Georgia

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: Thank you. Mr. Speaker, ladies

and gentlemen of the Parliament, distinguished leaders, friends all, I

thank you for this great honor. I do consider it an honor to be given

the floor in your Parliament.

I speak not only on behalf of myself as Vice President, but I speak for

my President, President Obama, as well as my country. I come here on

behalf of the United States with a simple, straightforward message: We,

the United States, stand by you on your journey to a secure, free and

democratic, and once again united, Georgia.

It's a journey nearly a century in the making. In May of 1918, the

National Council of Georgia -- this very body, under a different name --

declared independence, much as my own nation did 150 years before that.

Three years later, you adopted a constitution, a brave declaration of

your freedom and independence, even under the imminent threat of an

attack.

One month later, the Bolshevik occupation was complete, and this

parliament met for the last time until the end of the century. It was a

journey halted before it began. But the journey renewed in 1989, as the

cries for freedom rang throughout Georgia once again, only to be stopped

one more time by the last grasp of a dying empire. Two years later, you

declared your independence again, and a seed planted generations before

became a rose about to bloom.

Georgia's first post-Soviet experiment with democracy was tainted with

civil strife, economic hardship, growing corruption, and a backward

drift toward undemocratic rule. Then, just six years ago, the Rose

Revolution sounded a clarion call for freedom and democracy that was

literally heard around the world.

I still draw inspiration from that moment and the journey you have

taken. I remember watching in awe as you stood straight and tall. So

did millions of people around the world whose quest for freedom is not

yet complete.

One year ago, as the Speaker referenced, I came to Georgia under very

different circumstances. I was advised by many not to come. I was told

that it wasn't a particularly opportune moment. But I wanted to make

clear why your independence was so important to my country and the

world. Instead of standing in your parliament, I sat on the rooftop of

a restaurant with President Saakashvili, as the sound of artillery fire

and fighter aircraft punctuated the night.

On that rooftop, I pledged America's support to Georgia in my status as

the United States Senate. And I here today pledge it again, as Vice

President of the United States of America. I pledge it not

only on my behalf, but on behalf of President Barack Obama.

This visit, Tbilisi -- to Tbilisi, comes deliberately right after

President Obama's trip to Moscow, for as he was planning his trip --

as he was planning his trip, he instructed me to plan my

trip to Tbilisi.

Ladies and gentlemen -- and I know that some are concerned, and I

understand it, that our efforts to reset relations with Russia will come

at the expense of Georgia. Let me be clear: They have not, they will

not, and they cannot.

As I said in Munich in the first days after our administration was sworn

in, and as President Obama, I might add, reasserted two weeks ago in

Moscow, we stand by the principle that sovereign democracies have the

right to make their own decisions, and choose their own partnerships and

their own alliances. We stand against the 19th century notion of

spheres of influence. It has no place in the 21st century.

We will not -- we will not recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as

independent states. And we urge -- we urge the world not

to recognize them as independent states. And we call upon Russia to

honor its international commitments clearly specified in the [ *sic] 12

ceasefire agreement, including withdrawal of all forces to their

pre-conflict positions, and ultimately out of Georgia.

And we support the expansion of international monitors throughout

Georgia to promote peace and stability. During my visit last year, I

was moved by the plight of families displaced from their homes in South

Ossetia. And I was struck by the effort to undermine your economy by

targeting critical infrastructure deep within Georgia.

I promised that my country would provide meaningful assistance to

Georgia to help you recover. And today, I am pleased to say that the

United States has delivered on that commitment I made of $1 billion.

Ladies and gentlemen, since August, we have provided supplies and

shelter to those displaced, budgetary support to help your government

meet its fiscal responsibilities, reconstruction aid to help those who

were able to return home, and funding for roads and energy security; and

new resources to strengthen Georgia's civil society, legal system and

independent media.

All in all, Georgia today is one of the highest per-capita recipients of

U.S. aid in the entire world. Even where I come from, a billion dollars

for 5 million people is a lot of money. We are also working closely

with Georgia to modernize your military, with a focus on training,

planning and organization.

We understand that Georgia aspires to join NATO. We fully support that

aspiration. And, members of Parliament, we will work to

help you meet the standards of NATO membership.

I am pleased that just last month, the U.S. and Georgia launched a

Charter on Strategic Partnership. We set an ambitious agenda across

four key areas: defense and security; economic trade, and energy

cooperation; advancing democracy and the rule of law; and strengthening

cultural ties between our countries.

Let me be clear about what our strategic partnership with Georgia is,

and what it is not. The United States has no desire to create our own

sphere of influence in this region or anywhere else in the world. Our

goal is to help build a multi-partner world in which nations make common

cause of common concerns.

These partnerships are not being built against anyone. They are being

built to the benefit of everyone who seeks a more democratic, prosperous

and secure world.

With Georgia, our partnership involves meeting security challenges -- we

are grateful, truly grateful that Georgian soldiers will stand next to

our brave Marines in Afghanistan. It includes a commitment to energy

security, and we welcome Georgia's role as a bridge for natural

resources flowing from east to west, as it did a thousand years ago.

It carries with it -- this cooperation agreement -- a determination to

build stronger bonds not only between our governments, but among our

people through cultural exchanges, entrepreneurial collaboration, and

civil society cooperation.

Our partnership rests on a foundation of shared democratic ideals.

That's what you are about. And we will continue to support your work to

fulfill the democratic promise of six years ago.

As President Saakashvili told Parliament earlier this week -- and we

expect that he will keep that commitment -- that there is much more to

be done. Your Rose Revolution will only be complete when government is

transparent, accountable, and fully participatory; when issues are

debated inside this chamber, not only out on the streets; when you fully

address key constitutional issues regarding the balance of power between

the parliament and the executive branch, and leveling your electoral

playing field; when the media is totally independent and professional,

providing people the information to make informed decisions, and to hold

their government accountable for the decisions it makes; when the courts

are free from outside influence and the rule of law is firmly

established, and when the transfer of power occurs through peaceful,

constitutional, and democratic processes, not on the street.

Ladies and gentlemen -- I don't mean to sound instructive -- never tell

another person what their political interest is. But I can tell you

from experience there is no specific checklist for democracy. But there

are significant, concrete steps that need to be taken to deepen any

democracy.

Success requires the involvement of everyone in this room, of those who

were elected outside this room. It requires every Georgian citizen,

regardless of their political affiliation or their ethnicity, to take

part in their government.

And I especially today call upon the young people of Georgia, the next

generation of Georgian leaders, to continue to contribute their ideas,

their voices, and their energy to help create a peaceful, stable,

democratic and economically prosperous Georgia. Only then -- only then

will we see a Georgia that is the home to all its rightful citizens.

As difficult as this may be, I encourage you to keep the doors open to

the Abkhaz and South Ossetians, so that they know they have other

options besides the status quo. Instability or renewed conflict

guarantees, in our view, a continuation of the unacceptable status quo,

and it would discourage the foreign investment that is so essential to

the economic growth and the economic progress you so badly need.

It is a sad certainty, but it is true there is no military option to

reintegration, only peaceful and prosperous Georgia -- a peaceful and

prosperous Georgia that has the prospect of restoring your territorial

integrity by showing those in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, a Georgia

where they can be free and their communities can flourish; where they

can enjoy autonomy within a federal system of government, where life can

be so much better for them than it is now. Show them the real benefits

of your nation's motto: Strength is in unity.

Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen of the Parliament -- divided,

Georgia will not complete its journey. United, Georgia can achieve the

dreams of your forebears and, maybe more importantly, the hopes of your

children.

I'll end with a phrase -- a verse from maybe Georgia's most famous poet.

When I was in the president's office I asked, "Who is that portrait of?"

And he then gave me the history lesson on, again, maybe your most famous

poet, a poet who inspired the journey of freedom in 1921 -- and

continues to provide his voice today. And I want to make sure I get

this right. He wrote: "My heart burns with a holy flame that all my

strength I may employ, to serve my people faithfully in sorrow and in

joy. O let my people's suffering be branded on my soul I ask, and let

my heart, through good and ill, be equal to its task."

Ladies and gentlemen, my President and I, my country, we pray that your

hearts are equal to the task. I know they are, and so do you. And

thank you so very much for not only inspiring your own people in

completing this journey, but for the inspiration you've provided for

tens of millions of people seeking what you now have within your grasp.

And it is yours to guarantee.

We will stand with you. Thank you very much.

Communications Office
of the President of Georgia