Georgian Vice PM says respect for Georgia’s interests key in US, EU relations

Georgian vice prime minister and state minister for coordination of law enforcement agencies Mamuka Mdinaradze on Friday said relations with both the United States and the European Union should be based on one common principle - respect for Georgia’s national interests.

Speaking to journalists, Mdinaradze stated that Georgia is ready to maintain friendly and partnership-based relations with all countries, provided that Georgian national and identity-related interests are taken into consideration.

He also highlighted his recent visit to the United States, where he held what he described as “serious meetings”, including discussions on political issues.

“If Georgian national and identity-related issues are respected, we are ready to be friends with everyone. Our approach is to place Georgia’s national interests at the forefront. I personally was in the United States and had a fairly serious meeting there. It is no secret that we also touched on political issues during this serious meeting, because today there is no intelligence service, organization, or institution that is not connected to politics”, he said.

“While discussing this issue, I emphasized that we must not be deprived of the chance to restore our territorial integrity; we must not face a problem of physical survival, nor a collapse of the economy. No one should raise such issues. Beyond that, everything can be discussed if Georgian national interests are taken into consideration in relations with us”, he concluded.