The President of Georgia receives an award from the President of Poland - “the Cross Medal for the Merit to the Republic of Poland”

3/3/2008

The President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has official visit in Poland. He met his Polish counterpart Lekh Kachinski face-to-face in Warsaw Palace. Two Presidents spoke about the integration of Georgia into European Structures. They also discussed energy and economic issues. After the face-to-face meeting, during the briefing the two Presidents once more underlined that, Poland remains to be the strategic partner for Georgia. According to Lekh Kachinski's statement, they talked about the situation existing in Georgia, about the neighbour and partner countries. Mikheil Saakashvili stated, that Georgia has to use four weeks that are left till Bukharest Summit at atmost, to asure the NATO member countries, that our country is ready to become a member of alliance. «At this stage, my main goal is to create a large coalition that will support the Georgian integration in NATO, Poland is the leade member of this coalition. Poland is the leader of those European countries, that supports our integration in alliance. In four weeks the Summit will be held in Bucharest. This Summit can turn into a historical Summit of NATO. There is a possibility to finaly decide the integration of Georgia and the Ukraine in NATO. Georgia and the Ukraine have a great chance to finaly become the official Candidates for the NATO Membership" - stated Mikheil Saakashvili.

The President of Poland focused on the same issue during the press conference. Due to his statement, Poland will not only support Georgia in its integration in NATO but the Ukraine as well.

«We support Georgia in its integration in NATO and later in European Union. We hope that Georgia will make the next step for its integration in alliance» - said the President.

The President of Poland awarded Mikheil Saakashvili with the State Aword - "the Cross Medal for the Merit to the Republic of Poland".

After his meeting with the President of Poland Mikheil Saakashvili went to the Warsaw State University, where he addressed the audience and answered the questions of Georgian and Polish students. The representatives of Georgian Diaspora attended this meeting as well. The President of Georgia awarded the Medal of Dignity to Anna Shroder-Matikashvili, the wife of the Georgian warrior, the participant of Poland Freedom operation Major Nikoloz Matikashvili.

"Today, beside us is a very special person, Miss Anna, who is the live evidence, of what happened to her husband and their friends, other Georgian officers in Poland. She did everything she could, and saved us this history. We are very often blamed, that we think that the history of Georgia started after the Rose Revolution. But exactly the same people, who blame us, think that the history of Georgia started during the Soviet period. All of us know, that the Soviet Union took our history from us. And only after the Rose Revolution we started to recall our heroes, to honor them and to make them alive... to create new heroes" - stated the President of Georgia.

„It is a very important and inspiring day for me. Georgia is my second homeland. I will remember President's award the whole my live, even even if I am one hundred years old already" - noted Anna Matikashvili.

The President of Georgia layed down flowers on the cemetery of the Unknown Soldier in the frames of his visit.

The President of Georgia met the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Donald Tusk and Poland's Senate Marshal Bogdan Borusevich.



Press Office
of the President of Georgia