The President of Georgia met with Jarosław Kaczyński the former Prime Minister and currently founder and chairman of the “Law and Justice” party and the brother of the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński. The Meeting was held within the scope of the dinner hosted in the honor of the guest. Mikheil Saakashvili once again expressed sorrow regarding the death of Lech Kaczyński, and noted that Georgia has lost a reliable friend and supporter in the international arena. The Head of State once again recalled Lech Kaczinski’s contribution during the war in August 2008 when he stood side by side with the Georgian people during the toughest minutes.
“The death of your brother was a tremendous loss not only for Poland, but for my country as well. We have a street named after him in Georgia, but this is not the most important thing. When people toast in Georgian to families for heroes they always mention his name because something like this stays in people’s memory forever. He was a person who expressed great bravery as a result of a great risk in order to support my people. The fact that Georgia still exists is not only the merit of Georgian heroes and the international community, but of the fact that the airplane of our brother landed in Tbilisi despite the Russians not giving it permission to do so. Moreover, there was a chance for it to be shot down. On the question of Condoleezza Rice regarding what was the aim of the Russians, Sergey Lavrov answered: Total annihilation of Georgia. Putin threatened to bomb the rally, but foreign leaders came anyway. That is when the conquerors realized that they would not reach their goals. Your brother stood next to us during the rally. Sandra and I remember very well what kind of a relief this was for Georgia and the entire world” – noted Mikheil Saakashvili.
The sides agreed to future cooperation during the meeting, which was initiated by Jarosław Kaczyński . In his turn, Jarosław Kaczyński once again reiterated his support of Georgia’s territorial integrity. He later expressed full support of Georgia’s integration in the European and North Atlantic Structures and wished the country success on this road.
“Thank you for your kind words. I also remember when my brother called me to tell about the shooting. He did not seem to worry at all. George Bush, who was returning from Beijing kept his promise and made a statement as soon as he landed. He also supported this mission. Russians considered his statement. In such situations Americans’ support is always crucial because Russians consider their opinions. I don’t know what they are thinking now because the administration has changed. However, Hillary Clinton was talking about a strategic alliance while visiting Georgia which is very important” – noted Jarosław Kaczyński .
The First Lady of Georgia and members of the Georgian delegation also attended the meeting.