Joining NATO, EU not ultimate goal of Georgia, says MP

Joining the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) is not an end in itself for the Georgian authorities.

Georgian MP Guram Macharashvili made the statement on the air of the local TV channel PalitraNews.

"The European Union is a means to further develop economic relations. But if we see that the development of our country can be taken in another direction, we will talk about that direction as well," he said.

The MP stressed that Tbilisi wants a partnership with the US and cooperation with the EU, but not "at the expense of sovereignty, war and planned disorder".

At the end of 2022, the Georgian authorities announced that they had fulfilled all the EU recommendations for candidate status.

Earlier, Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski said that the European Parliament would not approve Georgia's application for EU membership if the republic's former president Mikheil Saakashvili dies in custody.