Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to VK
The prime minister of Lithuania, Andrius Kubilius, has visited Georgia. The head of the Lithuanian government promised to support Tbilisi in joining NATO and the EU and spoke about the decision by the Lithuanian authorities not to use the term “South Ossetia.”
“I hope the day when Georgia will be a NATO member is not far,” Kubilius said at a joint press conference with Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri. “Georgia is a very strong ally of NATO. If we look at the figures that reflect participation of the Georgian contingent in peacemaking operations in Afghanistan, we will see Georgia is one of the leading countries.” According to VK, the Lithuanian prime minister promised that at the Chicago NATO summit his country will vote for increasing the cooperation level between Georgia and the alliance.
Moreover, the prime minister of Lithuania supported the territorial integrity of Georgia, and to make his statement pithy he said that its government won’t mention in official documents and statements the term “South Ossetia” anymore, but will use the phrase “Tskhinvali region,” as it is called in Georgia. “This is our help to Georgia in the struggle to restore the country,” Kubilius said.
“Lithuania is a really important partner for Georgia. We appreciate Lithuania’s support in relations with the EU and NATO, and the support is felt everywhere,” Saakashvili noted. “In the near future negotiations with the EU on a visa-free regime will be started. Discussion of the agreement on free trade and associative membership in the EU will continue, and it is important that Lithuania will be the chairman of the EU in this period.” Saakashvili awarded the Lithuanian prime minister with the Order of Honor. Kubilius presented the Georgian President with the chronology of Georgian-Lithuanian relations since the Middle Ages. It includes a document dated 1465, in which the tsar of Georgia is mentioned as “Tsar of Imereti, Samegrelo, and Abkhazia.” “Here the territorial integrity of Georgia is recognized. Russia states that Abkhazia has never been a part of our country. I will send a copy of the document to Medvedev,” Saakashvili said.
