Eduard Shevardnadze bowed to popular will on Sunday and stepped down from office. His resignation was the culmination of almost daily protests that followed a disputed parliamentary election on November 2 that officially returned pro-government parties to power.

The opposition charged that the parliamentary elections which returned Shevardnadze's government to power were rigged and alleged that the president had allowed corruption to flourish unchecked.

"I am leaving," Shevardnadze said in televised comments after meeting with the leaders of the opposition in this former Soviet republic.

"I have never betrayed my people and that's why I think that as president, I should submit my resignation," Shevardnadze said.

However, the 75-year-old former president took too long to decide to leave office. He could have done it sooner and paved the way for a new election in order to remove ambiguities surrounding the previous election.

The former Soviet foreign minister, who helped end the Cold War, won worldwide praise including from the European Union and political commentators, for his peaceful handling of the protests. The opposition also refrained from violence.

Shevardnadze was considered to be the right hand of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The leader of the former Soviet republic also played a key role in paving the way for the reunification East and West Germany in 1990 when he was the Soviet foreign minister.

The European Commission said in a statement that Shevardnadze’s decision opened the way for the restoration of constitutional law and order in Georgia.

However, the power handover has caused some worries for the region.

Due to its strategic location, Georgia may become the scene of rivalry between its giant neighbor Russia and the West, especially the United States.

Georgia, which is of vital strategic interest to the West as a transit route for oil from the Caspian Sea, is also vulnerable to separatist activities within its borders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is concerned that the change of power in Georgia happened against the background of a heavy pressure.

"Those who organize and encourage such actions take upon themselves an enormous responsibility before the people," Putin said in televised comments.

But immediately after the downfall of the Shevardnadze government, the U.S. pledged political and financial support to the interim government of Nino Burjanadze, who took over from Shevardnadze. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called Burjanadze to express U.S. support.

The European Commission has expressed concern about the situation in the Caucasian state, saying that Georgia must now hold democratic elections in line with international norms to restore stability after the resignation of president Shevardnadze.

Security in the Caucasus region depends on stability in Georgia. It is a good omen for the future that the two sides did not resort to violence to resolve the crisis.