Georgia: Hard task for new leaders
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Mamatsashvili says Shevardnaze sometimes chose the wrong people.
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Demonstrators in Tbilisi celebrate as the president steps down.
Georgia opposition leader Mikhail Saakashvili talks with CNN's Jill Dougherty about the fall of Shevardnadze's presidency.
Shevardnadze resigns as protests fail to abate.
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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Eleven years as president of the small former Soviet republic of Georgia ended in ignominy for Eduard Shevardnadze when he was forced to resign by the force of public protests and "people power."
What went wrong? And can Georgia's new leaders reverse the country's decline? CNN's Tony Campion talked to Georgia's ambassador to Britain, Teimuraz Mamatsashvili.
Campion: Does whoever takes over as president have what it takes to improve the lives of ordinary Georgians?
Mamatsashvili: It's difficult to find a recipe for that. The most important thing is you need a lot of will. A lot of will, honesty, and a good team.
Campion: Is the mentality there? Is that what the former opposition -- now in charge in Georgia -- has?
Mamatsashvili: The former opposition who are now in power are very skilled and very experienced politicians, and I think they will manage. They have a lot of skill and experience from previous years, acting in parliament in different circumstances and different situations.
That's a very good qualification for this job. Now the main thing is to have a very, very good team to do this job.
Campion: What about the internal problems that Georgia has had. I'm thinking of the Ajaria region, the only land access that Georgia has to the Black Sea. Will a change of leadership improve relations there?
Mamatsashvili: It has to. Though it's not the only place which has the access to the Black Sea. Georgia has quite a long Black Sea coast. In some parts bordering Turkey there are such areas -- our biggest port is P'oti which is not in Adjaria nor Abkhazia.
I think with these new circumstances, with the changes in power and in the policy of the government, some relations should be improved in Ajaria -- and changed I think.
Campion: The former opposition has said that as of today it is starting to solicit further foreign aid for Georgia given that there has been a change of regime. What would you, as ambassador to the United Kingdom, say to Europe would be good reasons for now putting money into Georgia?
Mamatsashvili: The main good reason is that Georgia is very European-oriented. It's a European country -- it's on the border between Europe and Asia. The location is I think most strategic in the region -- this is the shortest route connecting Europe with Asia.
Georgia has access to the Black Sea and through the sea to the rest of Europe, thus giving the opportunity to central Asian republics and Caucasian republics to have access to the rest of the world.
Oil from Khazakstan comes though Georgia by the shortest route and cheapest route and cotton from Uzbekistan and there are a lot of possibilities in this way.
There's a lot of wealth and qualified workforce in Georgia and through Georgia is access to the rest of central Asia.
Campion: We have to be brutally honest. Of course the pipeline you are talking about, the oil pipeline across east Georgia, is one reason why international observers focus very much on your country. Does that actually bring revenue into Georgia? Is it financially important in fiscal terms -- important for Georgia itself?
Mamatsashvili: I can tell you that we are talking about is two pipelines. One pipeline is the oil pipeline which goes from Baku to Tbilisi then to Turkey -- and another pipeline which is a gas pipeline coming through Georgia again to a northern part of Turkey. I think the most important for Georgia from the revenue point of view and getting energy supplies is the gas pipeline.
Protesters partied into the night after Shevardnadze was overthrown.
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The oil pipeline is most important for bringing in potential political support for the country and to have some kind of guarantee from the western powers that the pipeline is in Georgia and protection is needed. It's very important from the mainly political point of view.
From the economic point of view maybe the gas is more important.
Campion: Finally, former President Shevardnadze was hailed as a savior of the country when he first took over -- he was very popular. Huge celebrations now he has gone. Where did he go wrong?
Mamatsashvili: I think he lost a certain sense of the situation in the country. Because the country became -- it was a most prosperous country during the Soviet time -- then if you consider 1997-1998, the country was really on the uprise, the economy was growing, the country had great hopes.
But after that the economy went down and I think after that he lost a little bit of understanding of what problems were happening in the country.
Campion: Was he a victim of circumstance or was it right that he should go for the sake of the country?
Mamatsashvili: I think he was the victim for many reasons. You know, the country was divided. Abkazia was lost for the time being and South Ossetia was lost and the loss of control of different regions was creating a lot of negative things, dismantling many things which were ruining the economy.
But this was not the only problem. The problem was that I think he also made some mistakes in not choosing the right people in the right places, and this is where corruption started.
