The Georgian opposition and 11 NGOs have condemned Prime Ministerial Special Envoy for Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze for saying that Georgia would not join NATO in the near future. The envoy made the statement on February 19 after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, RIA Novosti reports.
Lavrov waned that Russia would take measures if NATO tried to take practical steps to grant Georgia membership.
Abashidze noted that cooperation between Georgia and the NATO was not aimed at deploying the military infrastructure of the Alliance. He clarified later that Euro-Atlantic integration was the main strategic course of the government.
Mukhnar Burchuladze, the head of the National Democratic Development Center, said that a mass protest will be organized tomorrow, where activists will demand the resignation of Abashidze and the scrapping of the Abashidze-Karasin format.
Members of the Free Democrats Party lead by Georgian ex-Minister of Defense Irakli Alasania said that Abashidze should leave the post.
