by David Gura

Today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarked on a five-day trip to Ukraine, Poland, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. (I think we can safely characterize that as a whirlwind tour of Central Europe and the Caucasus.)

She will open the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Commission in Kiev, attend a celebration in honor of the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Community of Democracies in Krakow, meet with government officials and civil society leaders in Baku, Yerevan, and Tbilisi. You can track Clinton's trip here.

According to Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley, the speech at the event in Krakow is "at the heart of the trip."

At a special briefing yesterday, Assistant Secretary of State Michael H. Posner explained why the Community of Democracies celebration is so important:

"It's a meeting of approximately 75 governments, representatives of civil society, and really very much in keeping with the President and Secretary Clinton's commitment to democracy promotion and principled engagement," he said. "The Secretary's speech will focus on human rights and, in particular, on the role of civil society."

This will be an opportunity for us both to articulate in a public context, but also in a setting where governments committed to democracy and civil society gather, to try to strategize and figure out ways to advance promotion of democracy globally.