Georgia Says Saakashvili’s NATO Remarks in WSJ Distorted

Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister, Giga Bokeria, said President Saakashvili’s remarks about NATO and Russia were reported by The Wall Street Journal in a way, which totally distorted the substance of what had been said by the President.

The Wall Street Journal reported on July 20, that in an interview Saakashvili called the hopes of Georgia joining NATO “almost dead.” Then the President’s quote followed: "It’s tragic," he said. "It means the Russians fought for the right reasons." 

“What the President told the journalist was: ‘If Russia manages to kill Georgia’s way to NATO that would be tragic. It means the Russians fought for the right reasons’,” Giga Bokeria said.

President Saakashvili told lawmakers during the parliamentary debates that “Wall Street Journal has already apologized in written form.”

Later the Wall Street Journal posted on its site Saakashvili’s full quote on Georgia’s NATO aspiration, which says: "We all know that the issue is almost dead. It’s tragic. If they manage to kill NATO [Georgia’s hopes of joining the alliance], it means the Russians fought for the right reasons. It would mean you can still achieve political goals with brutal sinister means and that [Russian Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin was proved right. He told me many times. He told me your allies promise good things but don’t have a good record of delivery. I can’t promise good things but I always deliver."

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)