TBILISI, Georgia, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Newly elected Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili warned Russia Friday against interfering with his country's future.
Saakashvili said relations with Russia might improve with security guarantees, but Georgia could get them from the United States or NATO.
"I don't care about foreign interests. I care about Georgian interests," he told BBC's Talking Point.
Saakashvili led the opposition that drove former President Eduard Shevardnadze from office in November and won a landslide victory in January's presidential elections.
Russia played a direct role in Georgia's civil war in the 1990s when Abkhazia province tried to secede, Saakashvili said, and as a result, many Georgians were displaced and the province is now a major drug smuggling route.
He agreed it was time to normalize relations with Moscow but said he was not afraid of coming under U.S. influence while trying to balance Russia.
"The Cold War is over and we will not give up our independence. Russia cannot treat us as their former colony," Saakashvili said.
Russia maintains two military bases in Georgia: in Batumi, capital of the republic of Adzharia, and in Akhalkalaki, close to Georgia's capital, Tbilisi.
