The United States and Georgia signed a strategic partnership accord here Friday in a reaffirmation of US support for Georgia's sovereignty after its war with Russia in August.
The charter shows the way to boost "co-operation in defence, trade, energy security, strengthening democratic institutions, people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at the signing ceremony.
"The United States supports and will always support Georgia's sovereignty and its territorial integrity as well as its Euro-Atlantic aspirations," she said before signing the document with her Georgian counterpart Grigol Vashadze.
"The pace of Georgia's integration with Nato should depend on the desires of Georgians themselves and on Georgia's ability to meet Nato's standards," Rice said. The accord, similar to a strategic agreement Washington has recently signed with Ukraine, risks raising tensions with Russia, which fought a brief war with Georgia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia in August last year.
Post-war tensions between Russia and Georgia are already running high. Saakashvili on December 22 hailed the US-Georgia treaty as a "historic" move that will allow the two countries' relations to progress towards a new stage.
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