“Georgia belongs in the European Union,” Krišjānis Kariņš, Prime Minister of Latvia, told Georgian journalists ahead of the 2nd European Political Community Summit (EPC) in Moldova.

However, as the Latvian PM put it, he sees a “mismatch” between what the Georgian people want and what the government is speaking about.

“From Latvia’s and my point of view, it is very important that the EU expands so that there is no longer a grey area. It is pretty much black and white. It is either in the European Union or under the influence sphere of Russia. So one is a club of light-minded democratic countries, and the other is an imperialistic country which, through war, terror and aggression, wants to head its way.

So, we need to encourage the countries that want to join to be able to join, and also, to keep the doors open so that they can join. Latvia thinks that Georgia’s place is in this club. The difficulty from the outside is that it seems that what people very clearly seem to want does not simply match what the government right now is speaking. That is a little bit of a mismatch. I am positive that it will be cleared up. For me, it is clear that Georgia belongs in the European Union,” he said.

Moldova hosts the 2nd European Political Community Summit (EPC) at Mimi Castle, a winery southeast of the Moldovan capital, Chisinau. Heads of state and government, except for Russia and Belarus, participate in the EPC, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili among them.