We're looking west, says defiant Georgian PM

Georgian prime minister Zurab Nogaideli told an American audience that the former Soviet republic was successfully redirecting its economy away from Russia and turning towards the West.

Even as Russia responded to recent political friction with economic sanctions and threatened to cut off supplies of natural gas in the midst of winter, Georgia expected to meet its energy needs through a deal with Azerbaijan and was looking to new markets for its exports, Nogaideli said.