President Saakashvili’s visit to the United States planned for December may be canceled due to upcoming early presidential polls scheduled for January 5, Mathew Bryza, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, has suggested.

When asked by a journalist from the Russian NTV television whether this visit would be a sign of the U.S. support for Saakashvili’s bid to be re-elected, Bryza replied in Russian:

“President Saakashvili’s visit was planned long [before the recent developments in Georgia]. But the schedule should be revised now. But it is not up to me to take decisions of this type, because I am not [the U.S. President] Bush. But I know what the practice is.

He also said that the United States was not supporting individual presidential candidates. “We support democracy here,” he added.