TBILISI. Feb 19 (Interfax) - Georgia's President Giorgi Margvelashvili has reaffirmed his country's commitment to its European and Euro-Atlantic choice.
"European and Euro-Atlantic integration is a historical choice of the Georgian people, and it is the commitment to this ideal that was the reason to give me the presidential mandate. Georgia's aspiration to join NATO is due purely to its desire to ensure greater stability, development, democracy and success. This is our sovereign choice, and it is not aimed against the interests of any third country," he said in a statement issued on Thursday.
A democratic, prospering and safe Georgia is acceptable for all nations interested in developing cooperation and stability in the Black Sea and South Caucasus region, the president said.
"Despite Georgia's peace initiatives, Russia's occupation and annexation of the Georgian territories will only spark tensions in the region. Georgia is trying to address these tensions at talks in Geneva and in the Abashidze-Karasin negotiations. We are calling for these formats to be intensified to reduce tensions in the bilateral relations," the Georgian president said.
The statement was issued after opposition activists accused the Georgian government of changing its foreign-policy course aimed at integration in the European Union and NATO.