[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       THE RECENT VISIT OF GEORGIAN PRESIDENT MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 29, 2012

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to note the recent visit of Georgian 
President Mikheil Saakashvili to Washington. He met with President 
Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary Clinton, and many Members of 
Congress. President Saakashvili's high-profile visit helped consolidate 
bilateral relations, and the NATO Summit in Chicago in May could 
witness progress towards Georgia's membership.
  At home, however, Georgia confronts the unresolved conflicts in 
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In December, I chaired a briefing by the 
Helsinki Commission that examined the conflicts in the Caucasus, 
including Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well as Nagorno-Karabakh. I was 
impressed by the witnesses' expert testimony but concerned by their 
warning about the possibility of renewed hostilities in this 
strategically important region.
  Despite mediation by the OSCE Minsk Group, the parties seem no closer 
to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute than they were years 
ago. Prospects for settling the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia 
are even more remote, with Russia having recognized the independence of 
those separatist regions, where OSCE monitors have also been excluded.
  Of course, the U.S. Government has for years been involved in 
negotiating a settlement of these conflicts, through participation in 
the Minsk Group and by attempting to move Russia toward a constructive 
approach in the Geneva talks on Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 
Washington's efforts have unfortunately not resulted in a resolution of 
these protracted disputes.
  We have seen how quickly so-called ``frozen'' conflicts can come 
unfrozen, with terrible consequences. It is my understanding that 
Secretary Clinton is planning a trip to Georgia. I hope this is a sign 
that the region will receive a continuing and high priority in U.S. 
diplomacy.

                          ____________________