Georgia pledges co-operation

Georgia’s new foreign minister pledged to work closely with both the US and Russia, two countries that have jockeyed for influence in the former Soviet republic.

Tedo Japaridze, the former head of Georgia’s national security council, was confirmed to the top foreign relations post by parliament one week after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in the face of massive demonstrations over disputed elections.

Both Russia and the US have interests in Georgia, which lies in a strategic corridor between Nato member Turkey and the Caspian Sea.