Acting Foreign Minister Appointed

New Parliament should approve Salome Zurabishvili’s candidacy.

Georgian acting Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili was presented to the ministry’s staff today by President Saakashvili.

Salome Zurabishvili, who was a French Ambassador to Georgia before the new appointment, was granted by President Saakashvili Georgian citizenship on March 20, however retained French passport as well.

“I came to the Georgian Foreign Ministry as a free person without any instructions from the French government,” Salome Zurabishvili told the Ministry staff and representatives of the diplomatic missions in Tbilisi gathered in the Foreign Ministry.

“Today Georgia has a real chance to become a real European state. I believe that Georgia will succeed in this,” Acting Foreign Minister said.

She said that Georgia’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures would be the country’s foreign policy priority.

Georgian President’s decision to appoint French Ambassador as Foreign Minister follows his visit to France on March 8-10. Mikheil Saakashvili said that he discussed the issue with President Jacque Chirac and Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin during the visit.

It is expected that the new Parliament, elected after March 28 elections, will discuss the President’s proposal in April.

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