- Mr President, you said earlier, before leaving Tbilisi - that you are coming from Georgia holding out your hand. The phrase is obviously ambiguous. It may mean you intend to shake hands, or to beg. Which sense did you have in mind and what do you want from Russia?
- We are holding out the hand of friendship. It happened at the inauguration of the Georgian president, and it is in fact an unusual gesture for a Georgian president. You see, throughout recent years, if you asked public opinion in Georgia who was to blame for our wars and devastation, a lot of people would quite simply say it was Russia. I said we were extending the hand of friendship to Russia. And, to my surprise, tens of thousands of people who gathered in Rustaveli Avenue on that day applauded at this very point in my address. This was a very important sign for us, because it showed that the Georgians are willing to overcome the momentum of the past, they are willing to make friends with Russia.
- What first steps are you going to take as a president?
- First of all, we took measures to restore order. Secondly, of course, there's the question of financial      discipline.The third is establishing normal relations with our neighbours, with Russia above all. Russia is above all, because we have suffered enough from poor relations with Russia, because many troubles have be fallen Georgia on account of these poor relations, and also because if there is a country we have a lot in common with, it is above all Russia. Indeed, our relations cannot be described as normal, not even as normal but cool, let alone warm. Those relations were simply terrible. So when we say need to establish normal good relations, what we mean above all is the need to overcome the psychosis that still exists in our relations at the level of impulses and emotions.
- When ordinary Russian people - were asked which problem complicated relations between the two countries most, 43 per cent named the so-called Chechen problem, the presence of Chechen rebel bases on Georgian territory. That is what Russian citizens believe.
- These rebels did indeed move onto Georgian territory, the Shevardnadze government's attitude to them was indeed very ambiguous, so it was only natural that it did a lot of damage not only to Russia, and not even so much to Russia as to our own interests. We also feel how vulnerable we are ourselves. Because we are also a part of this region. So I think that serious steps have been taken to declare Georgia a zone that is free of terrorists.
- Let us now turn to Abkhazia. Some 32 per cent of respondents in Russia believe that what accounts for cool relations between Georgia and Russia is Abkhazia. How are you going to tackle problems in Abkhazia? Are you going to tackle them together with Russia?
- We shall certainly tackle the issue of Abkhazia together with Russia. I don't think anyone will dare even think that it can be tackled without Russian participation - active and well-intentioned Russian participation - not just for the benefit, say, of ethnic Georgians, but for the benefit of both the Georgians and the Abkhaz. For me, this is fundamentally important. This stance proceeds from the fact that Abkhazia is, quite naturally, a very important part of Georgia. As regards the problem - unfortunately, in the early 1990s the conflict in Abkhazia was not an internal Georgian conflict. It was, to everyone's shame, a joint Georgian-Russian war. Russian armed forces were operating there, and an ethnic conflict was created. So the first thing to do is obviously to establish ties between the Georgians and the Abkhaz. Secondly, we need to talk about a federal structure of relations. We are naturally willing to grant Abkhazia the broadest of autonomies - broader than that enjoyed by any of Russia's autonomous territories today. There was a campaign to grant [Russian] citizenship to the Abkhaz. I'd like to say that it was not a very healthy campaign. It is the same as if Georgia suddenly granted citizenship to people in the North Caucasus, some of whom are not very well disposed towards the Russian state, and some downright hostile. Everyone should realize, however, that under no circumstances will the Georgian state put up with the idea that Abkhazia should no longer be part of Georgia. I am going to discuss it with Putin. No, he bears none, and neither do I. So we can now turn over a new leaf. We now enjoy the support of the people, and we are willing to make brave decisions.
- What do you think the role of the peacekeepers in the area ?
- Opinions are often given that Russia is going to be driven out of the region, that the USA is going to take over from it. I am directly saying that - I have always said this - I am not a pro-Russian president. This is true for whoever is the president, even the Giorgadze whom you mentioned - even should a miracle happen, Martians land on Earth and elect him president. He would not be pro-Russian. Georgia cannot have a pro-Russian or a pro-American president. This could never be the case. Georgia can only have a Georgian president who will defend the interests of Georgia, which wants to be friends with Russia and wants to settle all these issues. This is the idea behind our policy.