Georgia Strives to Burnish Image Amid Ajaria Crisis

Amid a constitutional crisis involving the renegade region of Ajaria, Georgian leaders have waged a diplomatic offensive to bolster Georgia's international image. In the United States, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania has touted his government as "one of the most competent" in the former Soviet Union. Meanwhile, President Mikheil Saakashvili was promoting trade ties during a tour of Ukraine and Poland.

Since the Soviet collapse in 1991, Georgia has been riven by civil strife and economic dysfunction. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. At a public appearance in Washington on April 26, Zhvania emphasized that with Saakashvili's reform-minded administration in place, Georgia should no longer be viewed as a "failed state." Since January, Georgia has made great strides in curbing corruption, long seen as the single most daunting obstacle to Georgia's stabilization, Zhvania maintained.

"Formerly untouchable gangsters are now in prison, so people now have physical security. This is just a beginning," Zhvania said during the appearance, sponsored by the Center for International and Strategic Studies. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "The Minister of Finance [Zurab Nogaideli] has put an end to absolute chaos