Levan Mikeladze, the ambassador to the United States from Georgia, visited the University on Tuesday to speak about a number of key issues concerning his nation, as well as its relations to the United States and other former Soviet nations. He spoke in a small roundtable discussion at Room 101 of the International Studies Building, 901 S. Fifth St.

Allison Walter, of the office of International Engagement and Protocol at the University, coordinated the visit.

The Ambassador began with basic facts describing Georgia and acknowledged that many people are unaware of basic information concerning the country. Georgia is a country on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, a Caucasus country bordered by Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The population of the nation is more than 4.5 million people. A former Soviet republic state, Georgia shares Greek Orthodoxy, along with Russia, as its common religion.

“Georgia has very good relations with all the states in the former Soviet republic,” he said. “We have close relations to all the states that directly border us, as we have joint interests in the fields of security, safety and the development of a transit corridor to the Caspian Sea.”

Mikeladze spoke about the sophisticated relations of Georgia with other former Soviet states and their common bond of culture, faith and similar interests. He also discussed their joint efforts to eliminate tense relations with Russia.

“One of the main irritants to us in Georgia is the fact that the Russian government has a military presence in our country and has had this for a while,” he said. “We have been trying to negotiate a peace treaty with them for over a decade, and they still have not removed all troops from the area.”

The ambassador addressed the movement of his nation toward democracy after the Rose Revolution last year, a trend that he said is extremely important.

“The Rose Revolution created a precedent for a peaceful, bloodless, nonviolent regime,” Mikeladze said. “Achieving democracy was the driving force of this revolution, and by doing so, Georgia became a beacon of democracy for countries everywhere.

“It was as if our revolution had set a democratic fire across the world,” he said. “The goal of attaining democracy is a very natural process, and the whole world is moving toward this.”

Beka Dvali, senior counselor of the Embassy of Georgia in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, said he was pleased to attend the lecture and listen to the ambassador speak. He further stressed the importance of key issues that the ambassador addressed such as finding alternative energy sources and improving infrastructure in the nation.

“We are working toward improving the infrastructure of Georgia, by rebuilding the roads and finding new energy sources,” he said. “Much of the financial support we have received toward rebuilding has come from the United States, and this has further strengthened our relations.”

Anna Gogoladze, a Georgian graduate student at the University, said she was very pleased for the opportunity to speak with and listen to the ambassador of her native nation. She said that she is one of a very slight population of Georgian students at the University of which she is aware.

“Last year, when the Revolution was taking place, I was here in the United States and not in Georgia, and I had to watch the events on TV,” she said. “Now, I can hear about what really happened firsthand from the ambassador.”

She said that Tuesday’s lecture by Mikeladze was very important to her, and felt that she was honored to hear him speak in person.

“I was pleased to hear him speak and address many issues that affect my native people of Georgia,” she said. “Also, when I spoke to him, he told me that he was also honored for the opportunity to come speak at our University with students and faculty about many key issues of his nation.”

Zaza Broladze, graduate student and another native Georgian at the University, said that he was glad to have had the opportunity to attend the lecture and listen to the ambassador speak.

“Many people are largely unaware of what is going on with Georgia, or even that there are many key issues and developments taking place,” Broladze said. “This gives them the opportunity to hear about what’s going on and better understand it.”