Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is holding bilateral meetings during his second working visit to the United States in less than a month.

According to Saakashvili, the purpose of these meetings is to establish friendly relations with the "next generation of American leaders."

"I recently met with the current leaders of the U.S., but it is important to evaluate what will happen in 2016 and who will be the next president of the United States. Therefore, I am holding meetings with almost everyone in the Democratic and Republican parties who represents America's future and with those who will become the leaders of the United States tomorrow," Saakashvili said.

Saakashvili said that President Vladimir Putin's Russia "is getting weaker" and "heading downward", while the United States' "role will further strengthen," civil.ge website reported.

"No matter how much some may try to talk us into going back under the control of weakening Russia, our relations with the United States have most of the perspective," Saakashvili said.

Saakashvili has already held a meeting with one of the potential candidates in the 2016 presidential election, Senator Marco Rubio.

During the meeting the sides discussed Georgia's place in the political process and bilateral relations in the framework of the charter on geopolitical cooperation.

Rubio and Saakashvili stressed the importance of the continuation of democratic processes in Georgia and its aspirations toward NATO, as well as the US support for Georgia to that end. It was stressed once again at the meeting that Georgia will become a NATO member.

Accession to NATO is one of the top foreign policy priorities of Georgia. Soon after the declaration of independence, Georgia joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Georgia's practical bilateral relations with NATO were established in 1994 when the country joined the Partnership for Peace program (PfP). At the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in 2006 it was decided to launch Intensified Dialogue on Membership Issues with the South Caucasus republic.

Georgia as a significant contributor to Euro-Atlantic security is actively involved in NATO-led operations and its contribution to the ISAF operation in Afghanistan is of great importance.

Rubio thanked Georgia for its participation in the NATO operations in Afghanistan, stressing that the United States appreciates the support of Georgia in the fight against international terrorism.

Saakashvili's visit agenda includes a series of meetings with US congressmen and senators in Washington and New York.

The U.S. established diplomatic relations with Georgia in 1992 following the republic's independence from the Soviet Union a year earlier. The US assistance in various areas has been increased since the Rose Revolution in November 2003.

Furthermore, the US administration has designed the Millennium Challenge program aimed at investing US capital in the Georgian economy, thus reducing poverty through economic growth. This effort, totaling $295 million, was focused on different projects for rehabilitating regional infrastructure and promoting private sector development.