The European Union can’t lose Georgia, disappoint the Georgian people again and give Russia an easy place to play, said the President of Georgia in an interview with CNN.

“I think we have great chances to join the EU, and the paths towards the EU and NATO are very parallel. Georgia was very active in relations with NATO, and was an active member of the NATO missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Georgia had NATO exercises during these years, even though we had occupied territories.

So our connection with NATO is very close, but today the EU path seems closer because Ukraine actually accelerated the path of EU integration for the Associated Trio and probably others (Balkans) as well. As for NATO, the central topic at the next summit will be Ukraine, we all know that, and there will be security guarantees for Ukraine, I don’t know what type, but that"s normal. This is what Ukraine deserves today, and there is no competition in any form, and any progress of Ukraine will definitely be beneficial for Georgia.

But, the EU is at a crucial moment, Georgia needs to get the candidate status by the end of the year. They gave us a [European] perspective, which was very important for Georgia, because it meant that geography is no longer an obstacle for Georgia, as it had been for many years.

The next stage is getting the candidate status, and in this “soft war” we have with Russia, I think the EU cannot lose Georgia, disappoint the Georgian people again and give Russia an easy place to “play”. So, this is a very strategic decision, which, of course, takes into account the democratic reforms and the process, which lately has not been as satisfactory as it should have been. However, these conditions can remain, can be added, there are many opportunities through which the EU can choose the right words and format”, - said Salome Zourabichvili.