Atlantic Council

Dick Cheney visited Ukraine's president and prime minister in Kiev and reaffirmed U.S. commitment to its bid for NATO membership, BBC reports.

He stated that the U.S. has "a deep and abiding interest" in Ukraine's security and asserted that, "We believe in the right of men and women to live without the threat of tyranny, economic blackmail or military invasion or intimidation."  Therefore, "Ukrainians have a right to choose whether they wish to join NATO, and NATO has a right to invite Ukraine to join the alliance when we believe they are ready and that the time is right."

CNN adds that, "The meeting came on the same day as the United States' top warship arrived in the Georgian port of Poti to deliver humanitarian supplies, fueling Russia's fears that its superpower rival is making its presence felt in the Baltic region."

FT notes, too, that  "Cheney’s visit was clouded by the latest moves in the escalating power struggle between the country’s pro-western president and prime minister."

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Georgia  Thursday and reboubled American commitment to that fledgling democracy.  The day after the U.S. announced a $1 billion aid package to Georgia, Cheney stood beside  President Mikheil Saakashvili and declared, "After your nation won its freedom in the Rose Revolution, America came to the aid of this courageous young democracy. We are doing so again, as you work to overcome an invasion of your sovereign territory, and an illegitimate, unilateral attempt to change your country’s borders by force that has been universally condemned by the free world," NYT reports.   He continued, "Georgia will be in our alliance. NATO is a defensive alliance. It is a threat to no one."

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Azerbaijan today on the first leg of a trip that will take him to Georgia, Ukraine, and Italy.

CNN reports that Cheney will meet Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to "iscuss recent events neighboring Georgia, along with Azerbaijan's cooperation in the war on terrorism and its troop contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan" and will also meet with local representatives of BP and Chevron to discuss matters of enegy security.

In Georgia, Cheney is scheduled to meet with President Mikheil Saakashvili to discuss the current crisis with Russia and look "beyond the immediate situation and discuss in depth the need for a comprehensive long-term strategy by the international community to help Georgia recover and rebuild, including the critical task of supporting the democratic choice of the Georgian people to integrate further with Euro-Atlantic institutions, including NATO," a senior administration official says.

The visit to Italy will include an address to the Ambrosetti Forum on the challenges facing the transatlantic alliance and meeting with both Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and President Giorgio Napolitano.