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Georgia Turkey
Despite a history of episodic Turkish invasions, Shevardnadze
courted Turkey as an economic and diplomatic partner. Georgians
took advantage of the opening of border traffic with Turkey to
begin vigorous commercial activities with their nearest
"capitalist" neighbor. In 1992 Georgia became a member of the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, which is based in
Turkey. In December 1992, Turkey granted Georgia a credit
equivalent to US$50 million to purchase wheat and other goods and
to stimulate Turkish private investment in the republic. Georgia
also signed several diplomatic agreements with Turkey in the
early 1990s, including a Georgian pledge to respect existing
common borders, and official Turkish support of Georgian national
integrity against the Abkhazian separatist movement. The issue of
reinstatement of exiled Meskhetian Turks eased in 1993 when
Georgia established official contacts with that minority
(see Human
Rights
, this ch.).
Data as of March 1994
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