By empty (1/7/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Georgia will send a 207-person peacekeeping contingent to Iraq in early February, Defense Minister Lieutenant General David Tevzadze told journalists on 7 January. Some 70 Georgian officers, including 20 medical personnel, were deployed to Iraq in August 2003, where they are serving in Tikrit in the U.S.

By empty (1/7/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

President George W. Bush telephoned Mikheil Saakashvili on 7 January to congratulate him on his victory in the 4 January presidential election. Bush reportedly expressed support for Saakashvili\'s plans to advance democratic and market-oriented economic reforms, to fight corruption, to strengthen the partnership with the United States, and to bolster relations with Russia.

By empty (1/7/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Echoing Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov\'s assertion earlier this week that Turkmenistan does not require exit visas, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 7 January that the exit-visa regime reinstituted in March 2003 was only intended to prevent people allegedly involved in the November 2002 purported coup attempt against Niyazov from leaving the country. The exit-visa requirement has been replaced by a special stamp obtainable from the ministry\'s consular section upon presentation of an entry visa to the country of destination, the same requirement that applied after the suspension of the exit-visa regime in 2001. The ministry insisted that citizens of Turkmenistan are guaranteed freedom of movement in accordance with international standards.