Referring to President Saakashvili's August appeal, in which the Georgian Head of State had called on the international community to actively contribute to defusing the potentially explosive conflict situation in South Ossetia, President Rüütel said that Estonia supported a constructive and peaceful settlement of this issue under the guidance of the OSCE and at the same time hoped that the conflicting parties had the necessary will to hold a diplomatic dialogue.
The Georgian President said that Estonia served as an example to Georgia in implementing its reforms. Georgia in his words also hoped that Estonia would help them promote closer cooperation with NATO and the European Union.
The President of the Republic assured that Georgia was continuously one of Estonia's priority countries of development cooperation and that Estonia together with the other Baltic States was ready to actively cooperate with Georgia within the framework of the EU neighbourhood policy as well. Estonia, building on our hitherto contacts, in the near future intends to carry out a Eurointegration-related training course for Georgian officials on the issues of E-governance, court system and civil society.
President Saakashvili at President Rüütel's invitation will make an official visit to Estonia on October 11-13.
Public Relations Unit of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, September 21, 2004
