Baku:Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili has asserted that if Georgia had followed the European Union’s guidance, it would risk becoming merely a “state on paper.” He made these comments in response to a statement by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, who noted that Georgia is currently an EU candidate country only in name.
According to Azeri-Press news agency, Papuashvili claimed that adhering to EU advice, particularly in escalating tensions with Russia, could have resulted in significant economic repercussions akin to those experienced by Moldova. He emphasized that such actions might have drawn Georgia into a military conflict with Russia, potentially leaving it in a war-torn state similar to Ukraine.
Papuashvili further criticized the EU’s stance, suggesting that Georgia’s deviation from what he described as Brussels’ “harmful advice” has been beneficial for the Georgian people. Marta Kos had previously expressed a wish for Georgia to be on par with Moldova and Ukraine in terms of EU integration.