H.E. Mr. George Zurabashvili:

Deputy Richmond asked about the Copenhagen criteria. As I recall, there are three pillars, relating to democracy, macroeconomic stability and governance. Of course, we are working on that but it is a long and hard journey. We are not capable of walking the journey by ourselves because there is a lack of expertise, experience and financial resources, which is very important at this time. The human resources we need are also lacking. We are working on that. I cannot say exactly where we stand right now but it is a journey that will require much effort from both sides to meet the criteria. We are very grateful for the support of the European Union and all member states but we need more support to match those criteria when the time comes.

As for the occupying forces stationed in our country, there are two occupied territories, namely, Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. Following the 2008 war, Russia illegally opened two military bases, with 10,000 soldiers between them. Furthermore, there are 2,500 FSB-KGB agents who are controlling the occupation online. According to our intelligence, Russia has very sophisticated military equipment stationed on its military bases. I do not have knowledge about its involvement in the aggression against Ukraine but I have been told it has put the base in the Abkhazia region on high alert.

This is the reality and it is alarming. We need to be very cautious in dealing with the occupying forces because we are aware of the brutality, both from our experience and from watching on television what is happening Ukraine. On the other hand, we are supporting Ukraine as much as we can. We have some limits but we are doing our best. As I mentioned earlier, we provide humanitarian aid and support to the likes of the UN, the OSCE, the ICC and any other institutions in any way we can. It is true we are not subject to the sanctions, but they affect us indirectly along with the Russians. For example, we do not have any flights or transactions over international banking systems and so on.