Incoming Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, who won his seat of power earlier this month, believes his country should compete in the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia, “and as a neighbor should do everything to ensure that Games are conducted peacefully and without any accidents,” he said Tuesday in news conference.
His predecessor, President Mikheil Saakashvili, was considering a boycott of the Games due to on-going diplomatic tension resulting from a five-day war between the countries in 2008, so this is a welcomed turn, especially since Sochi sits about eight miles from the border, up the coast of the Black Sea.
Russia suffered through a boycott at their last hometown Games when 65 countries including the United States sat out the 1980 Moscow Olympics in protest. To combat that memory, organizers aimed the last bit of the Sochi 2014 slogan -- roughly translated “Hot.Cool.Yours.” -- at the hope and belief that this would be an all-inclusive Olympic Games. Looks like we’re on our way.