“I’m legitimate in the eyes of the people. I represent the people and their will to continue on the road since independence, and that was very clearly pro-Western,” the former President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, said in the interview with American National Public Radio (NPR).

According to Zourabichvili, she represents the Georgian people while trying to unite the opposition.

“I’m legitimate in the eyes of the people, but I’m there for two very important reasons. One is that I represent the people and their will to continue on the road since independence, and that was very clearly pro-Western. I represent another very strong will of the Georgian people, which is to see their opposition united. My goal is to try to change that. I think that we are making some progress, and it’s clearly the will of the people,” the former President explained.

In an interview with NPR, the former president emphasised Georgia’s strategic significance, noting that Russia is fully aware of this importance and is continually seeking to expand its influence over the country.

“Georgia is a place where both the United States and the European Union have invested massively in constructing an independent state. But moreover, if that engagement was there, it was because there was an interest, a strategic interest in this region, which is essential for the connection between Western Europe and Central Asia, between the two seas. What Russians know very well and have known for centuries is that whoever holds Georgia holds the Caucasus,” Salome Zourabichvili has said.