Georgia on Thursday appointed Gela Bezhuashvili, a senior presidential aide and fluent English speaker to be foreign minister, and analysts expected him to stick to the pro-Western policies of his sacked predecessor, Reuters reported. President Mikhail Saakashvili, who has vowed to move his Caucasus state closer to Europe and the United States since coming to power in a Dec. 2003 "Rose Revolution", dismissed French-born diplomat Salome Zurabishvili late on Wednesday. Bezhuashvili previously had a brief stint as Defence Minister under Saakashvili and also served as a deputy defence minister in the government of veteran leader Eduard Shevardnadze, who was ousted in the revolution. "I confirm that Gela Bezhuashvili has been appointed minister of foreign affairs," said presidential chief of staff, Georgy Arveladze. Zurabishvili was dismissed because of complaints about her management style, not because of policy differences, and independent analyst Alexander Rondeli said foreign policy would be unchanged. "Bezhuashvili is also someone who supports and implements pro-Western reforms," said Rondeli.
