TBILISI: Georgia's president was expected to ask U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday for advanced U.S. weaponry, military aid and unarmed observers to monitor a cease-fire along the boundaries of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions.
The White House refused to comment Thursday on Georgia's interest in U.S. military assistance. Russia, however, reiterated its warning that it would lower or halt military cooperation with any country supplying Russian arms to Georgia, an apparent threat to Ukraine.
President Mikhail Saakashvili said he and Biden had spoken informally Wednesday at a dinner in the $40 million presidential compound's glass-domed dining room ahead of talks Thursday.
"I told you there was no such thing as a free dinner in Georgia," Saakashvili told Biden, an apparent reference to Georgia's requests for expanded military assistance.
The smiling Georgian leader, who referred to Biden as "Joe," called the discussions "very productive."
Biden seemed more reserved, calling Saakashvili "Mr. President." While citing U.S.-Georgia ties, he also expressed support for political reforms that Saakashvili announced earlier in the week to counter claims he has turned authoritarian.
"We're here to talk about your security, economy, your democracy and the steps you are taking for solidifying your democracy," he told Saakashvili.
Biden later spoke privately with major opposition leaders, including two of Saakashvili's chief rivals: Irakli Alasania, Georgia's former ambassador to the U.N., and Nino Burdzhanadze, former speaker of parliament.
The vice president also was to address parliament and meet with the current speaker, a longtime Saakashvili ally, before leaving Thursday evening.
The White House has avoided making any public commitment on aid, arms or observers, although it says it stands behind Georgia's application for NATO membership despite determined opposition from Russia.
The U.S. gave Georgia $1 billion in aid shortly after Russia defeated Georgia in a short war last August. But Washington has so far not supplied the Georgian military with arms to replace those lost in the war, amid warnings from Moscow that such a step would raise the risk of another conflict.
A spokesman for the Georgian Defense Ministry, David Nardaya, said he could not say how much military aid was being sought because the information was classified but described the weapons as defensive.
In Moscow, the government said it would not stand by while Georgia was resupplied with weapons.
"We will continue inhibiting rearmament of the Saakashvili regime and are taking concrete measures for this," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. He said this was in line with a presidential decree issued in January.
Ukraine supplied weapons to Georgia during last summer's conflict with Russia, and Belarus has expressed support for Georgia's claims to two Russian-backed breakaway regions at the center of last year's war. Both former Soviet republics have military ties with Russia.
Biden is on a four-day mission to Ukraine and Georgia to demonstrate U.S. support for the two countries, where Western-style democracies have struggled in the wake of peaceful revolutions and Russia's determination to have influence over former Soviet republics.
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