Georgian Parliament Speaker: “With NATO we feel safer”

Russia is occupying not only Georgian land but the minds of Georgian people, which is "most damaging”, says a top Georgian official.

In front of guests at the South Caucasus Security Forum, currently being held in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, Georgia’s Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili voiced his strong opinion on the negative effects of Russia’s pressure on Georgia and its economic progress, and thanked the West for supporting Georgia as it moved towards European Union (EU) and NATO integration.

Usupashvili believed the problems caused by Russia took up most of the Georgian politicians’ time, which would be better spent on the country’s economic development.

"Every moment, every second we spend on these [security] issues takes us away from other things the Government needs to be focused on, [including] social issues, economic issues, the wellbeing of our people, cultural issues, educational issues... Unfortunately my colleagues and I spend most of our time focusing only on these issues and this is not contributing to our GDP, which should bring our nation forward,” Usupashvili said.

He also believed Russia’s actions to gain control over Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region – which are both Russian-occupied territories of Georgia – was not Russia’s ultimate goal.

"These regions were only platforms of further steps to increase its influence not only on Georgia but on the broader region,” Usupashvili said.

He addressed the audience, which included NATO and European Union (EU) representatives, and said if it wasn’t for their efforts Georgia would be in a worse situation. In this context, he said:

"When you are here, we feel safer. Please, make a decision – either welcome us as your member or stay here in this hall with us; we will be happy in either case.”

Watch the Parliament Speaker’s full address below.