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On February 2, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told journalists from the leading German media that he was very content with the outcome of the "Rose Revolution."  Two years ago, Georgians overthrew their government in a peaceful revolution with a decisively pro-Western and pro-democracy agenda.

Speaking to a press conference organized by GMF's Berlin office, Saakashvili said that not only the revolution had put a halt to rampant corruption — most of the previous regime's civil servants were expelled from office — but it had also boosted the economy.  He said he was proud that his country's budget had risen sharply in the past two years, and that Georgia had developed a free press, a functioning democracy, and a vibrant civil society.

Because of these reforms, Saakashvili cautiously advanced the idea of potential admission to the European Union.  He admitted that Georgia is still far away from even being perceived as a potential candidate, and he also admitted that the wider European public opinion was strongly opposed to further expansion.  However, he advised Europeans to be aware of the geopolitical importance of the region.  "Freedom and Democracy," Saakashvili emphazised, had made Georgia's positive developments possible.

But knowing that EU membership is not currently on the agenda, Saakashvili strongly advocated NATO membership.  He said that Russia would use the frozen conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia to portray Georgia as a country on the brink of civil and inter-ethnic warfare.  He argued that the conflicts were not about ethnicity, but were artifically prolonged and exploited by Russia to block NATO membership.  NATO does not admit countries that have conflicts with their neighbors.

Aware of the Caucasus' negative reputation in Europe, Saakashvili underlined that Europeans should not perceive Georgia as a country of the Caucasus, but rather as part of the larger "Black Sea Community."  He said that Georgia had close ties to Romania and Turkey, and he was adamant to state that Georgia is in a very similar position as the Baltic states — a prosperous, booming, and civil nation-state emerging from the post-Soviet space without ethnic and territorial conflicts.  He emphasized Georgia’s very close relationship with Estonia and portrayed Georgia to be in a similar position.

When journalists asked about recent tensions with Russia, Saakashvili said that Russia needs a clear and blunt statement from Europe that Russian interference in domestic affairs would not be tolerated and that Georgia's dependence on Russian gas should not be exploited or manipulated.  He was very optimistic that the new German government's foreign policy will be much more oriented along principals and values than the former one.