Pellegrini: We Back Georgia's Sovereignty and Choice on EU-accession Talks

Bratislava, 2 April (TASR) - Slovakia fully respects the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders, said Slovak President Peter Pellegrini in a joint statement after receiving his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Kavelashvili at the Presidential Palace on Thursday. Pellegrini stressed the need to respect the fact that continuing negotiations on EU accession is a sovereign decision for each country. Kavelashvili stated that Georgia supports the original values of the EU when it was founded as a peace project, but in his view European bureaucracy is currently making mistakes. According to him, Georgia must promote its national interests and do its best for fair negotiations. "Bratislava is a place that should serve for meaningful dialogue with partners from all over the world. As part of Slovak diplomacy's efforts to maintain constructive relations in all cardinal directions, I'm very pleased that today we can welcome the Georgian president to Slovakia and share very openly, without any diplomatic scruples, views on developments in domestic and global politics both here and in Georgia," stated Pellegrini. Both countries have a common vision, which is to protect stability and national interests, he added. According to the Slovak head of state, every country has the sovereign right to decide when it will continue accession talks with the Union and how it sees its future within the European perspective. He stated that he and Kavelashvili also spoke about this issue in a very open manner. Pellegrini told the Georgian president that, by joining the EU, Slovakia has become part of the large single European market and part of the developed Western world. "When the EU was founded, it was a peaceful idea; it was meant to foster economic cooperation and mutual respect, but European bureaucracy is currently making mistakes. We support the original values. We have heard what the negotiations on EU accession between Slovakia and the EU were like. We must promote our national interests and do our utmost to ensure that the principles of mutual respect are observed and that the negotiations are fair," stated Kavelashvili. According to its president, Georgia came under pressure to impose sanctions on Russia and under pressure from the EU to send volunteers to Ukraine. He pointed to the need to uphold a policy of peace and to continue peace negotiations. ko/df