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Seyran Petrosyan, based in the Armenian-populated town of Akhalkalaki, contends that Saakashvili’s clear victory in areas where ethnic Armenians live is a paradoxical reflection of the reluctance of Georgian-Armenians to see Georgia as a NATO member for fear of increased Turkish influence and a diminished role of Russia.

“Washington had many occasions to make it clear to Saakashvili that his policy aimed at regaining control over territories - Abkhazia and South Ossetia – currently not controlled by Tbilisi is a serious impediment on the way of Georgia’s membership in NATO,” Petrosyan explains. “It was made clear to Georgia’s president that the patience of the U.S. is not boundless and that he must deal with the conflicts in his country as soon as possible. In practice, it means recognizing the sovereignty of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in exchange for Georgia’s soonest membership in NATO.”

The count of votes in Georgia’s pre-term presidential election shows that Saakashvili has taken a landslide with 52.21 percent, or more than twice as much as his next rival Levan Gachechiladze.

The data released by Georgia’s Central Election Commission shows that Saakashvili was a clear winner in all Armenian-populated areas of Georgia, with a high voter turnout registered in the Armenian-populated region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. Thus, the voter turnout in the most densely populated Armenian town of Akhalkalaki exceeded 65 percent.

However, chairman of the Javakhk compatriotic union in Armenia Shirak Torosyan claims the Armenian population of Javakheti treated the presidential polls in Georgia “with passivity bordering on total indifference.”

He said a “phenomenally low turnout” was because “”none of the presidential candidates had provided answers to questions raised by the local Armenian population.”

Georgia’s attitude towards NATO was one of the two questions put on a plebiscite held with the presidential election simultaneously. While official results of the referendum on this issue are not available yet, exit polls show that most Georgians have voted in favor of their country’s joining the U.S.-led military bloc.

Georgian political analyst Georgiy Shibua thinks that the entrance of such a geopolitically important regional state as Georgia into NATO will enable Washington to deter the threat of Russia’s extending influence along the south vector and will minimize the scope of functioning for the Russia-Armenia-Iran strategic axis.

“It is this major direction of U.S. policies that Mikhail Saakashvili currently hinders as he insists his country can become a NATO member only on condition it has established full control over its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” Shibua says. “A paradoxical situation is thus created: against his will, Saakashvili meets the interests of Russia to a greater extent than the interests of the United States.”