Georgian Foreign Minister: sovereignty and national interests are the only things worth romanticising

Georgian foreign minister Maka Botchorishvili on Monday highlighted the importance of protecting the country’s security and pursuing a realistic foreign policy.

In her remarks, Botchorishvili noted that Georgian citizens clearly see the challenges facing the country and how the government responds to them, further pointing out that the public is able to properly assess ongoing developments both within Georgia and around the world.

The minister stressed that the government’s main priority is safeguarding the country’s security. She underlined that the authorities are doing everything possible to prevent Georgia from facing a situation similar to that of Ukraine amid the ongoing war.

“I would not wish for this country to be in the situation that Ukraine is in today. I truly would not wish that, and I will do everything - and we are doing everything - to ensure that our country is not in that situation”, she noted.

The minister also reviewed how the West perceives the issue of Georgia’s occupied territories, noting that assessments on this topic often come with delays.

“Only recently the British ambassador informed us that the United Kingdom now recognizes our territories as occupied and refers to our two regions as such. Are we seeing this only now? Has someone only now realised that two regions of Georgia are occupied?” the minister continued.

Botchorishvili further added that when assessing international politics it is important to take a realistic approach rather than romanticising events. She emphasised that the only thing that should be “romanticised” is Georgia’s sovereignty and national interests.

“The only thing we should romanticise is the sovereignty of our country and our national interests, which are directly linked to our security and stability”, she concluded.