Edward Shevardnadze, Georgia's president, saw Russia's hand behind a small military rebellion in western Georgia, which disrupted construction of the pipeline last October.
Many people in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, see Moscow's hand behind the attempted assassination of President Edward Shevardnadze in February and an army mutiny in western Georgia this week.
IAEA-led team was fanning out in western Georgia in search of the remaining two of a batch of eight abandoned devices containing strontium-90, another radioactive element, which had been used in generators for communication stations.
Many of Georgia's Western friends would be delighted if someone with an easier personality (and greater readiness to listen to advice) were in charge.
While Mrs Clinton reiterated that the US did not believe in spheres of influence, she was clearly trying to strike a balance between keeping pro-Western forces in Ukraine and Georgia happy and not upsetting Moscow.
The pro-Western Saakashvili came to power in Georgia's "Rose Revolution" in 2003 and was elected president in 2004 and 2008.
The difficulty for Western observers is that the situation in Georgia is indeed complicated.
Georgia's impressive crop of western-educated young reformers believes he is now strong enough to back them instead.
Georgia only survived with gutsy self-defense that gave agile Western diplomacy time to succeed.
WSJ: Urmas Reinsalu: Georgian Democracy and Russian Meddling
The advantage of Georgia is that it is seen as the most pro-Western and business-friendly country in the region.
During the debate on the EU's foreign policy she pointed to the work of the union in brokering a ceasefire between Russia and Georgia in South Ossetia, and the process of peacekeeping in the Western Balkans.
BBC: Baroness Ashton criticised over EU 'diplomatic service'
Russian troops drove deep into Georgian territory in the country's western sector Monday after crossing into South Ossetia to support separatists who want the region to break away from Georgia.
应用推荐