Lithuanian President reiterates support towards Georgia

Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaite paid a two-day visit to Georgia on May 3-4 after visiting Azerbaijan. She met her Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili and, according to the Georgian President’s administration, discussed the issues of bilateral cooperation. Grybauskaite expressed Lithuania’s support towards Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and stressed Georgia’s importance for “stability in the region”.

The Lithuanian President said Lithuania supports Georgia’s aspirations to integrate in the Euro Atlantic structures. “I am here as a leader of the OSCE chairman state. It is important that the conflicts in the region be solved in a peaceful way,” Grybauskaite said. She also noted that Georgia’s progress will be determined by how soon Georgia will be able to do its “homework” in the fields of press freedom, human rights, rule of law, institutional reforms and fighting corruption. “We have seen how the country has been developing and we are content with such good results,” President Grybauskaite stated.

Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili thanked his Lithuanian counterpart for her support, saying that after Grybauskaite’s becoming the President of Lithuania, its support towards Georgia has “further strengthened.” “Since Madam Grybauskaite became the president, in all international organizations, including the EU and the NATO, Lithuania has been intensively fighting for defending Georgia’s interests and for Georgia’s integration in these organizations,” Saakashvili noted “Whenever we are in need, the first ones to arrive are Lithuanians,” he added.

The Georgian President named Lithuania as one of the “most important” allies for Georgia. “We have big relations. The first visit of Lithuania’s new President to Georgia is the confirmation of these relations and support,” Mikheil Saakashvili noted.