Biden links Tbilisi to energy security

TBILISI, Georgia, July 23 (UPI) -- The United States sees the government of Georgia as a key partner in terms of European energy security, the U.S. vice president said.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili as part of a broader tour of the Caucasus and Eastern Europe.

Biden said during an official dinner with top leaders in Tbilisi that Washington views Georgia as a "vital partner" in the region and is committed to strengthening ties on a variety of fronts.

"It includes our commitment to your energy security you're providing for many others," said Biden. "We welcome Georgia's role, literally as a bridge for natural resources flowing from east to west."

A January strategic partnership agreement between the United States and Georgia places energy security for the region as a priority in bilateral relations.

Georgia is a key energy transit nation in the region, hosting a leg of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the second-largest oil pipeline in the world. The Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline through Georgia, which runs parallel to BTC, would connect to the Nabucco pipeline to Europe.

Europe is lobbying to secure and diversify its regional energy sector following a gas crisis stemming from a January dispute between Russian and Ukraine.

Biden had met earlier with Ukrainian officials to discuss international financial backing to support the national economy, as Kiev struggles to meet its debt obligations to Russia for natural gas.