By empty (9/13/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
At an unplanned meeting in New York on 13 September, U.S. President George W.
At an unplanned meeting in New York on 13 September, U.S. President George W. Bush assured Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili of Washington's support for the ongoing Georgian campaign to establish order in the Pankisi Gorge. Prior to a meeting the following day at Camp David with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Bush said that he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to "give the Georgians a chance to achieve a common objective -- and that is to get the Al-Qaeda killers and bring them to justice," Reuters reported. Meeting with students in Tbilisi on 13 September, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze expressed his appreciation of President Bush's expression of support. (RFE/RL)