President of Romania calls on the ruling party and the opposition to work together on 12 recommendations
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
President of Romania Klaus Iohannis stated that the Georgian political class should take the recommendations of the European Commission seriously and the government and the opposition should work together based on national interests.
At the joint press conference with the President of Georgia, Klaus Johan answered the questions from journalists.
"Romania also had a long way to go before becoming a member of the European Union. We see the steps that need to be taken. Regarding Georgia, 12 recommendations were created that we know about. It is most important that the political class in Georgia takes these recommendations seriously and work to make the requested changes. In Romania, it was important to see these issues as a matter of national interest. Both the ruling party and the opposition should work together on this issue based on national interests," he said.
Salome Zourabichvili said that political parties cannot blame each other for the failure of the European integration process and imagine that one of the parties will emerge victorious from the process.
"It is very clear the desire and will of the population of Georgia to follow this path. Political forces remain... The picture is very clear - no one can think that they will blame the other for the failure in this matter. It is a mistake to think that one side can then come out victorious by blaming the other. Today, if the national interest stands somewhere, this {European integration} is the national interest of Georgia. It's time for everyone to understand that this is a national interest," the president said.
The presidents of Georgia and Romania signed a declaration on the establishment of strategic cooperation between Georgia and Romania.
Salome Zourabichvili noted at the press conference that Romania, along with Poland, is Georgia's main partner in Europe and has been supporting the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of our country for 30 years.
The President of Georgia once again expressed her support for Ukraine at the international forum.
"I can't help but start my speech with what is happening right now, at this moment in Ukraine - the brutal missile attack that is being carried out on the population of Ukraine today. This country is the country we are close to. We are even closer to this conflict and we fully sympathize with the Ukrainian people. What is happening today in the cities of Ukraine is completely unacceptable for the whole civilized world, for us, for Georgia and for Romania. We have a great experience of Russian imperial policy, Soviet policy, and we know what aggression means, we know what occupation means, we know what Russia is capable of doing. This is the transition of this aggression to a new dimension. What is being heard in terms of nuclear security, what is happening in our occupied territories, where Russia is starting to mobilize, what is also being done in the entire territory of Russia, all this is a continuation of the brutal aggression that is unacceptable for a peaceful world. We know that this is an unacceptable form for our countries and for Europe, it is a form of the past that will not bring anything and will not have the results that the person who started this aggression hoped for. No one will allow this," Salome Zourabishvili said.
