Let me start with praising the decision of the current Administration which has finally abandoned the "New Independent States" cliche, thus disassociating us from the past which we do not necessarily hold dear. I am even more pleased by the fact that both National Security Council and Department of State structurally seem to have followed the example set by
GUUAM in joining together Europe and Eurasia.

The US executive branch ceased to use the very term, which constantly reminded us about the time we have spent living under the regime which based its policy on the well-known ancient Roman principle of "divide and rule." Now, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, we have tried to live according to a different motto, "unite and prosper." The biggest remaining concern, without doubt, is the continuing pressure from some in those countries in the vicinity aimed at "absorbing neighbors or turning them into satellites," as Dr. Kissinger wrote in his recent Washington Post op-ed.

Principle of "unite and prosper" not only allows us to cooperate effectively with the West, it de-facto dictates that kind of cooperation. And, hopefully, we'll make use of this opportunity to the fullest extent.

For our western partners interrelationship with GUUAM can become core of their policy in two regions at the same time. GUUAM's role as a link between the areas of Black Sea and Caspian Sea is, without doubt, just another one
of the numerous advantages it can provide in terms of cooperation.

Thankfully, the US Congress seems to be reacting, by establishing adequate legislative basis beneath this public interest. Almost a year ago it passed the Defense and Security Assistance Act of 2000. This legislation contains one whole section dealing with GUUAM and providing $ 8,5 mil in the FY 2001 and $ 37 mil in the FY 2002. I highly appreciate efforts of the many
legislators who fought for this bill and also for providing better assistance to GUUAM. I hope that in the coming year we will see at least some of that money appropriated.

My understanding and conviction is that the GUUAM area, also due to the group's broad inter-regional nature and commonality of interests, might prove to be one of the crucial fields where the competing interests of the European Union, the United States, Russia, and also of other powers meet. So, this group becomes a very important part of geo-political equation. And we need to educate our European partners about GUUAM, just the way we are doing with the United States, with the purpose of achieving the group's recognition as a factor for the future of the United Europe.

From the very moment of establishment of this group we viewed it as a political, security and economic alliance designed to strengthen what we, in Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova, value above all – our independence and sovereignty. All the member states have arrived to the conclusion that GUUAM can be instrumental in providing achieving this goal on the path of transition to democracy and market economy, which all of us view as indispensable.

Now, about the occasional claims that internal differences among the GUUAM countries will not let the group grow and develop in the future. The matter is that all five share not only common history, but also common problems, stemming from that history, as well as similarities in their approaches to tackling these problems. In my view, neither of the above-mentioned will be
altered if political agenda of the governments or even the governments themselves change.

Let me state quite unequivocally: there are no substantial differences among the GUUAM nations as far as the future interaction within the group is concerned. The only difference is in how much openness and assertiveness these countries can allow themselves while expressing their respective positions and priorities. And that is understandable.

One of the major factors defining how vocal the GUUAM states can be about their plans for the future of the group is the problem of regional conflicts, be it existing or potential, which, unfortunately, represents another aspect of commonality for them. In accordance with the mentioned above "divide and rule" principle, escalation of these conflicts is fueled by those who still have not given up hopes of replacing constructive cooperation by domination. As for the way out, it is exactly what "unite and prosper" formula dictates - if you have common illness, well, it's time to look for a common cure.

That is why resolution of conflicts, countering aggressive separatism and all forms of chauvinism, along with putting an end to arms deliveries to the zones of conflicts have become as important to our nations, as other things, which sound much more universal (political interaction, economic and security-related cooperation etc.)

Let me close by saying that we, in GUUAM, are proud of what we have already achieved in terms of formalizing this group. We are also fully aware that we need to work hard to make GUUAM functional, we are ultimately responsible for the success of this organization.

Still, one thing is for sure: we could use some help, and we trust that it can be found here, in America, where experts already realize that by assisting GUUAM, or even helping it to help itself, the West can only gain in terms of its aspirations for a better, diverse, and more secure world.