FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
18 May, 2000

Washington, D.C. – May 18, 2000 - Ambassadors from the GUUAM countries (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova) to the United States declared yesterday that the objective of GUUAM is to strengthen the sovereignty and independence of the five former Soviet republics.

The ambassadors, appearing at a Capitol Hill seminar sponsored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and made possible by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also described four immediate objectives: (1) to promote an East-West trade and transportation corridor, (2) to develop interaction within the framework of Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and NATO’s Partnership for Peace program; (3) to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the region; and (4) to combat the trafficking of narcotics in their countries.

The ambassadors also praised the United States as a “strategic partner” in their countries’ efforts to build democratic governments and free market economies in their states. Speaking at the seminar were Ambassadors Tedo Djaparidze of Georgia, Kostyantyn Gryschenko of Ukraine, Sodyq Safaev of Uzbekistan, Hafiz Pashayev of Azerbaijan, and Ceslav Ciobanu of Moldova.

Also appearing at the hearing was U.S. Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs. Senator Smith praised GUUAM as an organization that can mean much to the freedom and prosperity of the five countries, and declared that “there is a need for greater U.S. engagement with GUUAM.”

The Ambassadors’ presentations were followed by a panel of experts, which included Paul Goble and William Samii of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Glen Howard, a defense analyst with SAIC, and Paul Joyal, editor of the Intercon Daily. The experts emphasized that the United States should support GUUAM, because it represents an alliance promoting stability and security in the region. According to Mr. Goble, the significant thing about GUUAM is that “it is neither artificial nor coerced.” He said GUUAM also indicates a Western orientation and a tendency toward free trade by the five countries.

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Embassy contacts: Azerbaijan – Elin Suleymanov (202) 8420001; Georgia - Maya Zhgenti (202) 387-2390; Moldova – Andrei Popov (202) 6671130; Ukraine – Tetiana Zhmachenko (202) 3330606; Uzbekistan – Yusuf Magdiev (202) 8875300