Moldova and Georgia look to Ukraine for leadership in post-Soviet world

By Aussiegirl

It looks as though Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine are seeking closer ties through the GUUAM Treaty to form an alliance that will form an opposition to Russian influence in the post-Soviet space and to provide a bulwark of democracy for former CIS states, with Ukraine taking a leading role in the region.

Read more:

In an article published on March 2 the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta says that three countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine "are forming an anti-Russian triple alliance."

The newspaper notes that the surprise visit of Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin to Ukraine on March 1, ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled in Moldova on March 6, as well as the unexpected visit of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to Moldova scheduled for March 2, indicate that "plans are being developed in Tbilisi, Kiev, and Chisinau to finally pull out from the sphere of Russian influence."

"Kiev is gradually becoming a second center of influence on the CIS territory, which will be an alternative to Moscow. The President of Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko, does not make a secret about his attempts to create his own 'sphere of influence.' It should be based on GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova)," the Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

During his visit to Moldova, Georgian President plans to discuss revitalization of the GUUAM coalition. Mikheil Saakashvili also will discuss this issue during his visit to Ukraine scheduled for mid-March.

The Nezavisimaya Gazeta also quotes Ukrainian Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk as saying in an interview with the Ukrainian television, that the CIS is "not a serious structure."

The newspaper also quotes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, as saying in his recent interview to the French Le Monde, that Ukraine and Georgia are oriented towards the European structures, as Russia left no other option to these countries.