Shalva Papuashvili: Georgia, almost only active supporter of Ukraine without economic and security guarantees
Georgia is almost the only country in the alliance that supports Ukraine without security and economic guarantees from NATO and the EU, while having two regions occupied by Russia and Russian troops stationed 30 km from the capital Tbilisi, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili told an interview with AGERPRES on Tuesday in Bucharest.
Without the security and protection guarantees that most countries supporting Ukraine enjoy, escalation with Russia would be unwise, would contradict the policy we have been pursuing for over a decade and, most importantly, would have no effect on Russia. Georgia represents 0.3 percent of Russia's economy and Russia has often used the economic embargo against Georgia - closing the border with Georgia, etc. - because they do not care about the impact of Georgia's economy on Russia, it is marginal, explained the Georgian Parliament Speaker.
A victim of Russian aggression in 2008, Georgia has not adopted sanctions against Russia under a policy of so-called "strategic patience", but is trying to ensure that its territory is not used to circumvent international sanctions. Everyone understands that without giving security guarantees to a country, without giving economic guarantees to a country, one cannot expect it to risk its security and the economic situation of its people, the Georgian official explained.
The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, visited Romania on Monday and Tuesday, where he discussed with Romanian officials including his country's aspirations for Euro-Atlantic integration. Authorities in Tbilisi hope to receive the status of candidate country for EU membership this year, after Brussels decided last year that Georgia must carry out further reforms to take this step.
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