TBILISI, July 23 (RIA Novosti) - Any improvement in U.S.-Russian relations will not harm Georgia, and the United States will never recognize Abkhazia or South Ossetia as independent states, the U.S. vice president said on Thursday.
"I know there is some concern, and I understand it, that our efforts to reset relations with Russia will come at the expense of Georgia. Let me be clear: they have not, they will not and they cannot," Joe Biden said in an address to the Georgian parliament.
He reiterated Washington's unstinting support for Tbilisi and urged Moscow to withdraw its troops from South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia recognized their independence last August after a war with Georgia over South Ossetia.
"I come here on behalf of the United States with a simple straightforward message: we, the United States stand by you on your journey to a secure free democratic and once again united Georgia," he said. "We will stand with you."
"We call upon Russia to honor its international commitment, clearly specified in the April 12 ceasefire agreement, including withdrawal of all forces to their pre-conflict positions and ultimately out of your territorial area."
Biden also urged other countries not to recognize the separatist republics.
"We will not recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states and we urge the world not to recognize them as independent states," he said.
He said the United States fully backed Georgia's drive to join NATO: "We understand that Georgia aspires to join NATO. We fully support that aspiration."
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said earlier on Thursday his country was under threat and its security could only be ensured through cooperation with the United States.
In his opening remarks at an official meeting with visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, he thanked the United States for assistance provided to his country after the August 2008 war with Russia, including $1 billion that was disbursed on Biden's initiative.
Saakashvili said Georgia was a developing democracy, built on freedom of expression and the struggle for independence and sovereignty.
"However, we are a state that is continuously under threat," he said in a thinly veiled reference to Russia, which regards Georgia and other former Soviet states as part of its sphere of influence.
He added that Georgia was working hard to overcome its challenges and become a part of the democratic world.
Moscow has been angered by Georgia's desire to join NATO, which has been central to Saakashvili's foreign policy since he came to power in 2004. The bloc put Georgia and Ukraine's bids on hold last April, although it promised to revisit the decision in the future.
