Georgia has no ties to Moscow, President Kavelashvili asserts in Deutsche Welle interview

There is no evidence to suggest that Georgia has any ties to the Russian Government, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili said in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

Kavelashvili noted that the ruling Georgian Dream party has pledged that a time will come when the people of Georgia will once again live together with their brothers and sisters residing in the country’s temporarily lost territories, united in a single state.

“Of course, we are thinking about the territories we consider temporarily lost, about the people who still live there. We see them as our brothers and sisters. As I noted at the UN General Assembly, the ruling party pledged that a time would come when we would all live together in a united state. We will continue our development and take care of each other just as we did before”, Kavelashvili said.

When asked what he would say to critics who argue that the Government’s policies place it too close to Moscow, the President stressed that Georgia’s approach is based on national interests.

“The whole world is motivated to stop Russia. How do you think we can restore our territories if our relationship with Russia is aggressive? Is there any other way to return our lands? We are not a NATO member - NATO refused this. We are not an EU member either. If you look closely, our policy, the policy of our Government, is based on pragmatic, balanced, and realistic models. There was a time when we were left without support, and our policy stems from that unfortunate experience. Our approach is grounded in our national interests”, the Georgian President concluded.