GEORGIA: Mr Mikhail Saakashvili began his first visit to the US as Georgia's president yesterday, three months after leading the "rose revolution" that ousted the nation's veteran leader and amid the first moves in a crackdown on corruption.
The US-educated lawyer was due to meet senators and billionaire Mr George Soros, the man whom opponents of Mr Saakashvili (36) accuse of helping to finance the popular movement that swept Mr Eduard Shevardnadze from power, after a decade that left Georgia mired in poverty and corruption.
Mr Saakashvili, Europe's youngest leader, will meet Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell and national security adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice today before meeting President Bush tomorrow, Georgian officials say.
After Mr Shevardnadze's resignation, Mr Saakashvili won 97 per cent of the vote in elections on January 4th, driven by huge support for his pledge to crush corruption and guide Georgia down a tricky diplomatic path between key ally Washington and old Soviet master Moscow.
He has made membership of the EU and NATO key goals for Tbilisi, while inviting Moscow to embark on a new relationship based on equality rather than Russian geopolitical ambition and Georgian suspicion of its huge neighbour. Washington has urged Moscow to close two Soviet-era bases in Georgia, and has pledged not to permanently station its own troops there. US advisers have helped train Tbilisi's army, however, and FBI agents will join Georgian military and rescue services today to conduct a simulated response to a terror attack outside the capital.
Mr Saakashvili is also expected to report to US officials on the results of his anti-corruption drive, which has already snared several prominent figures.