U.S. President Barack Obama welcomes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to the White House Monday for talks on further strengthening bilateral ties.

The White House says Mr. Obama will reconfirm U.S. support for Georgia's territorial integrity. It says Mr. Obama also is expected to underscore the importance of U.S. defense cooperation with Georgia, including Georgia's contributions to the international coalition in Afghanistan.

The two leaders also are expected to discuss trade, tourism, energy, science, education, culture and security.

Georgia fought a brief war with Russia in 2008 over two breakaway provinces — Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The two Russian-backed regions declared independence from Tbilisi, but only Russia and a handful of other countries recognize them as independent nations.