Mikheil Saakashvili:

Jerzy, it is a great pleasure to welcome you to Georgia as an eminent friend of my country, as a great European leader, great democrat with some great history of combat. It is a very great occasion for us that somebody who was one of the founding members of solidarism one of the great Poles could had today the European Parliament. That makes especial for the European Parliament. That is why under your leadership the Parliament has gained even more importance lately, influence and moral standing, not only because you are a prominent freedom fighter but because you reached out to many countries outside the Parliament. You strongly focused on moral agendas and issues: human rights, democracy, freedom and the European Parliament are placed to go to when you seek justice, when you seek moral support. This is a place where cat can be called a cat, things can be described the way they are. That is why it is our turn to give you the warmest welcome here, in Georgia for this very important parliamentary meeting of the community of democracies. You all know that our choice is clear, we want to be part of the European family of democracies, we have proven our commitment in the hardest times, we continue to prove it every day, despite all the odds, despite the occupation, the embargo and the permanent efforts of provocations . We are Europeans and this is both our choice and our fate and I am sure that with friends like Jerzy Buzek we will succeed and reintegrate a joint family that Georgia should never have been separated from.

Again, thank you Mr. President and you have the floor.

Jerzy Buzek :

Thank you very much Mr. President, thank you Misha for invitation, because it was not only invitation of the leader of your parliament, but also your personal invitation  to European country  from the European Union. So bilateral relations between the EU and Georgia is quiet natural, we have absolutely the same values, the same heritage, the same history and we share today the same challenges, sometimes the same threats and we should answer them and answer them together, and I am very glad that we have launched euro nest, parliamentary assembly,  which is very important and supportive form -  Eastern partnership, because it is giving democratic accountability through the parliaments to everything what governments are doing. Let me say very important something that expected sentence from you Mr. President. The EU supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.  I deeply regret the continued presence of Russian troops in the breakaway region. The European Parliament has dejected the unilateral declaration of independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.   It is very important - such a clear statement, because we would like to solve the frozen conflicts, in this region is another one in the Nagorno-Karabakh and Georgia could also play positive role, because having good relations with both -  Armenia and Azerbaijan could help to solve the conflict. Let me say that you are very successful and you are very successful as Georgia, Georgian citizens  and authorities  after  further round of reforms in your country , and we are very sure in European Parliament that the second round of  reforms are necessary in Judiciary, in the media how to make them more pluralistic and free, absolutely free. It is also very important cooperation between opposition and coalition. Why is it also very important? Because you have a lot of things to do and answer very important questions, sometimes threats, so broad cooperation and consolidated societies are very important . But I am quite sure that if you could manage few years ago it will be also very successful in the future. Let me say that  important for us is also to remember that our common approach to the most important issue on the global scale is very helpful on both sides - Georgia and  the European Union,  European Parliament . We would like to build something triangle, which is connected with three important words: democracy, stability, prosperity, because is no stability for longer term without prosperity, is not even democracy for longer term without prosperity, because for our citizens it is most important  question is  jobs and prosperity in the future. So, our economic cooperation between the EU and Georgia is very important.  We know about the association agreement - is lying on the table. We should go ahead with the negotiations, comprehensive free trade area of visa liberalization. Everything is in front of us. So let us be optimistic, let us change everything what is necessary and let us also implement in our bilateral relations very simple role. More for more, it means more support and cooperation, for more sustainability and compatibility, compatibility it means that our systems are more similar, so let us make our systems similar, compatible. Thank you very much once again Mr. President for possibility to stay here in your beautiful country.

Questions

TV Channel Imedi, Lika Beria: Russian President directly stated that he didn't aim the defense of its own citizens when he started the war, but in order not to allow country collapse and prove his own strength at the press conference yesterday. Russian authorities used to speak about other reasons of starting the war before. As the experts said it was a direct testimony given by the leader of the occupant country. I want to ask Mr. Buzek and the President of Georgia: what are your evaluations of this statement made by Medvedev.

Mikheil Saakashvili: concerning the statement made by the President of Russia yesterday it made everything pretty clear for us. They used to say before that they came to Georgia because they worried much about the destiny of people of Ossetian and Abkhazian origins residing in Georgia. Yesterday they said it was not so. The statement regarding the demonstration of Russia's strength by this, to say so doesn't reflect the truth. I think that period of time less then three years since August 2008 was the demonstration of serious weakness of Russia's today's policy that they expressed in regards of Georgia. You all remember statement made by the President of Russia about me, Mikheil Saakashvili being considered to be a political corpse, but due to this consideration I am a political corpse for three years for now and I think I look a bit better from physical point of view and from political point of view than how he described me. I think you remember their statements regarding hanging me somewhere with different parts of my body and that their major hope was Georgia would evaporate, disappear, collapse and would become an example of publically punished country for the rest of post Soviet space. The major aim of their intervention from the very beginning was this - Georgia, as comparably small nation by size and by population to become a patent of what does the punishment of an disobeying country could mean. Today people from Russia come to Georgia in order to study our reforms. Today Georgia, that has no oil and no gas, despite all challenges it faces, became the major reformer of this region, a fast developing country that becomes attractive in every possible ways for everyone, among them for Russia for those people who has information about us. I want to raise ea question:  I wonder wasn't it very important for Russia to have such a country as an ally? Wasn't it important to have democratically elected Government of Georgia as their partners and friends? Today, the ally of Russia in Georgia is one degenerated part of former separatists that are serving the occupants on empty territories. Their major ally and supporter in Georgia is "Kochoia" from Gali and former politicians that ran out on the streets today obtaining world records in regards of unpopularity due to the public opinion polls. This already turned into disgust from people's side. Are they going to strengthen their political influence in region by the help of these allies? Sure we are open to conduct serious negotiations with Russia; sure we want openly share our experience gained by reforms with them and besides this just have normal, human state-to-state relations, however only in case if they will recognize Georgia as an independent state and will launch a dialogue with Georgia's recent, democratically elected Government. Their actions are not the expression of strength indeed.  

Jerzy Buzek: That was very broad and deep answer, but let me add only few sentences. First of all, it is very important for the EU to fall the conflict. As all the frozen conflicts could be dangerous, specifically for both regions at the beginning and also conflict with Russia is an important obstacle for Georgia's development and we should also take it into account. Let me say that EU continues security support through the EU monitoring mission and I met the representatives of the mission this morning and they underlined a good cooperation with Georgian government, which is very important and let me add that EU is strongly involved in the Geneva discussions together with Unated Nations and OSCE  how to solve the conflict and  help to end the situation.

TV Channel Rustavi 2, Natia Gogsadze: I have a question to our guest, I want to continue Russia's topic and statement made by the President of Russia. You are informed about Perevi incident and know that several youngsters were wounded during this incident - health conditions of one of them is extremely heavy. Due to this fact, Russian experts made some very disturbing statements - you were the guest of this conference. As they said due to Medvedev's statement and this incident, Russia is possibly getting ready for a new provocation. What will be the response from EU at this time, in particular will this response be an effective response?

Jerzy Buzek: Let us lie on the results of some investigation, also our - European Union monitoring mission will take about this case, because we were discussing this morning, this case is very important today. But let me in this question remind something very important that Mr. President proposed in his speech half a year ago - unilateral non-use of force in solving the conflict. Such a declaration is very important and we expect also some answers from the Russian side for such a declaration. It was in open speech in European Parliament, in the plenary session. It is a very important declaration.

Mikheil Saakashvili: This continues the answer on the first question. Is it possible that the strength of such a grate state could be expressed by declaring hunting on children of a much smaller state that went to the forest to collect plural capers, raspberries or other berries? I am saying this not in a figurative meaning - an ambush was arranged on Georgian children. How can we call a phenomenon that makes an ambush in forest aiming physical liquidation of children? We all know the name of such action. It is regrettable that such persons represent the Armed Forces and security structures of a big state having pretensions on respectability. These structures have no business there. We are thankful of activities carried out by European observers and we hope that they will sufficiently investigate this barbarian incident.