Georgia: Saakashvili, Ivanishvili agree on Western agenda

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili pledged a flawless transition of power in a way that “has never happened before in the history of Georgia” following a meeting with rival Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose Georgian Dream party gained a majority in the country’s parliament following last week’s election. Ivanishvili noted that his views on foreign policy coincide with Saakashvili, promising to continue down the path toward Euro-Atlantic integration and NATO membership. Ivanishvili has said his first foreign trip will be to the U.S., and that he would like to renew close ties with Russia, an overture that has been cautiously welcomed in the Kremlin.

Brad Wells: We continue to positively evaluate the political power shift going on in Georgia as a landmark in the CIS space for the seemless transition so far and expect other issues will be settled diplomatically. We are still looking for a reading on Ivanishvili’s domestic policy, the biggest unknown right now. While he has already announced his foreign minister pick, whose credentials backed his pro-Western rhetoric, he has yet to identify an economy or finance minister, though he has promised to do so shortly. We expect this part of the picture to be clearer by October 21, when the new parliament is due to meet for the first time.