Russia Brief: Georgia at the crossroads. Untangling Tbilisi's complex politics скачать в хорошем качестве

Russia Brief: Georgia at the crossroads. Untangling Tbilisi's complex politics

Walk down almost any street in downtown Tbilisi, and you’ll see posters supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia, European Union flags and lots of anti-Russian graffiti. In December 2023, the E.U. granted Georgia candidate status. That’s encouraging news for the roughly three-quarters of Georgians who see their future firmly in the E.U. and who support membership in NATO. But there’s hard work ahead on democratic reform. Meanwhile, the country is politically polarized, with the ruling party publicly supporting integration with the West, while continuing its economic ties with Russia and China. Russian forces still illegally occupy two territories of Georgia. Crucial parliamentary elections are scheduled for October. To understand where Georgia is headed, Jill Dougherty, CERES Fellow and Former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief, talks with one of America’s most experienced diplomats, Ambassador John Tefft, who has served as U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, Russia, Lithuania and Ukraine. About the Guest Speaker John F. Tefft is a retired United States diplomat, and holds a Distinguished Chair in Diplomacy and Security at the RAND Corporation. He was a career Foreign Service Officer for more than 45 years, completing his service as the United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2014 to 2017. Tefft earlier served as the United States Ambassador to Lithuania from 2000 to 2003, Ambassador to Georgia from 2005 to 2009, and Ambassador to Ukraine from 2009 to 2013. He worked from 2004 to 2005 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs responsible for U.S. relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies (CERES) would like to thank the Carnegie Corporation of New York for generous support of our programming. CERES Box 571031, Room 111 ICC Building Georgetown University Washington D.C. 20057 Phone: (202) 687.6080 Fax: (202) 687.5829 CERES@GEORGETOWN.EDU Twitter: @CERESGeorgetown