The Growing Importance of Georgia Under President Saakashvili

Experts agree Georgia has a significant role to play in the future geopolitics of oil, as efforts move forward to build multiple pipelines to transport Caspian oil and gas both to the West and East.

The strategic importance of Georgia is not lost on its neighbor Russia. Thousands of Russian troops are still stationed in this former Soviet state, which, Mr. Goldgeier says, has raised considerable tension between Tbilisi and Moscow.