MORE RAPID REFORMS NEEDED FOR EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION OF GEORGIA
President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, currently attending the General Debate of the UN General Assembly in New York, met with President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia at the UN Headquarters.
During the bilateral meeting - the 6th such meeting - the Presidents discussed the ongoing reforms in Georgia, its preparedness for EU and NATO integration, and the relevant issues to be discussed at the Eastern Partnership summit in Warsaw next week and at the NATO summit in Chicago in 2012.
Speaking about the forthcoming Eastern Partnership summit, President Dalia Grybauskaitė urged Georgia to act and speak in one voice with other Eastern partners - Moldova and Ukraine. According to the President, a single voice of the partners would be better heard and their united interests - better understood.
The President emphasized Lithuania's support for Georgia's aspirations to sign a free trade agreement and start negotiations on visa-free regime with the EU. She also underlined that attaining these goals directly depended on Georgia's determination to continue national reforms and assume European norms.
"Reforms on the path of forming transparent and efficient state institutions, enhancing the rule of law, ensuring the freedom of mass media and introducing European standards in economic cooperation constituted the only possible way of achieving Euro integration," the President said.
During the meeting, the Presidents also talked about the protracted conflict in Georgia. According to President Dalia Grybauskaitė, the current General Debate of the UN General Assembly - "The Role of Mediation in the Settlement of Disputes by Peaceful Means" - is highly relevant and significant to both Georgia and Lithuania, who chairs the OSCE this year. During her visit to the Southern Caucasus this past May, the President placed special focus on the resolution of protracted conflicts.
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