Georgia: Ex-Parliamentary Speaker Reaches Out to Moscow

Former Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze has become the second prominent Georgian politician in recent weeks after former prime minister Zurab Noghaideli to hold talks with Russian officials.

Before boarding the plane to Moscow on March 3, Burjanadze, leader of the opposition Democratic Movement United Georgia, told journalists that she was making the trip to do "big politics."

"I am going to defend the interests of my people and my country," she said. "The country that I'm going to visit is our neighboring state, one of the largest and strongest states, and, of course, the position of this country is of significance for Georgia's unity."

Many of her colleagues in the opposition lambasted Burjanadze for engaging the Kremlin while Russian troops remain stationed in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia despite 2008 cease-fire terms calling for their withdrawal. [For background see the EurasiaNet briefs].

Both Noghaideli and Burjanadze used to be key Saakashvili allies, but have become his vocal critics in recent years. Neither politician currently holds elected or public office.