Saakashvili: Georgia Remains High on EU’s Agenda

Despite EU’s decision to resume partnership talks with Russia, Georgia will remain high on the Union’s agenda, President Saakashvili said on November 11.

“Yesterday, after the EU [foreign ministerial] summit, I had a detailed conversations with British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and he assured me and said it very precisely that Georgia will be a very important issue in EU-Russia dialogue,” Saakashvili told journalists in Warsaw, where he was attending ceremonies marking the 90th anniversary of Polish independence day.

“EU will fundamentally review its relations with Russia – the decision was made yesterday [on November 10, referring to a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels] and they have decided that in this process Georgia will be very high on the EU’s agenda,” he added. “Now we expect from our European partners that we will all work together towards Georgia’s de-occupation.”

EU foreign ministers said in a joint declaration after the Brussels meeting that a decision to resume partnership talks with Russia “in no way legitimise[s] the status quo in Georgia, or Russian action contrary to our values and principles.”

British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, said in a joint statement on November 10 that their support towards resumption of EU-Russia partnership talks should not be interpreted as return “to business as usual.” “Nor are we turning the page on the conflict in Georgia,” they said.

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