Georgia Re-Assesses Its Position

This year promises to be a good one for Russia. The country's beleaguered economy is poised to pull out of recession, though its financial problems are far from resolved. Furthermore, upheaval in the European Union and a new presidential administration in the United States could spell an end to, or at least a reduction in, economic sanctions imposed three years ago by the European Union and the United States. For former Soviet countries such as Ukraine, Moldova and particularly Georgia, these changes will require a recalibration of their foreign policy. Facing dim prospects for further integration with the European Union and NATO and uncertain of the new U.S. administration's policies, the government in Tbilisi is rethinking Georgia's relationship with Moscow....