Foreign Policy has recently interviewed Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. Garibashvili's government's primary focus, Garibashvili told Foreign Policy in an interview, is developing closer economic and political ties with the European Union while laying the groundwork for eventually joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
"His country was once firmly oriented east, towards its rulers in Moscow. Garibashvili hopes it will soon be just as firmly oriented west," Foreign Policy writes.
"I really want to transform my country into a real, modern, democratic, European state," the Georgian prime minister told Foreign Policy. "That's my dream."
"Making that dream come true will require deftly finessing Tbilisi's relationship with Russia. With pro-Western leaders in nearby Ukraine struggling to find their way out from under Russia's thumb, Georgia's successes and struggles offer both a roadmap and a cautionary tale for Kiev," Foreign Policy writes.
In his interview, Prime Minister Garibashvili said that he hopes his country's increasing integration into Europe will gradually persuade the citizens of South Ossetia and Abkhazia that it would be in their own interest to rejoin Georgia. Tbilisi is slated to sign a so-called "association agreement" with the E.U. in August, bringing Georgia closer to full membership, and Garibashvili predicted that within the next five years Georgian citizens will be able to travel through the E.U. without visas and that the country's economy will be rapidly expanding because of growing trade with Europe. Residents of the breakaway regions, Garibashvili believes, will want those perks for themselves.
