Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says he does not trust the Georgian institutions to investigate the election process. “It would be too naïve to expect that they are able to.”

Nauseda stressed the need for “international, independent investigation of the process.”

“I think this time is not enough to express our deep concern because I am disappointed not only by the result, but also by the numerous violations of the electoral process. And this is a matter of concern. You cannot at the same time talk about the aspirations to become a member of the European Union and do everything – imposing laws, taking other measures, and using offensive rhetoric towards the Democratic West. Because this is illogical, you cannot logically explain it. This is the reason why we have to investigate this election process. I do not trust that the institutions of Georgia are able to do that. It would be too naive to expect that they are able to.

I think, we need an international, independent investigation of the process. This time, the scale and intensity of Russian interference in the electoral process was as big as never before. And this is a matter of concern. I am not talking only about Georgia, I am talking about Moldova as well. But the outcome of the elections in Moldova was different. And I should ask you about the response from the European Union. This will be maybe our response. It’s enough to send a very clear signal – if you are doing this, you cannot expect to come closer to the European Union. You are moving in the opposite direction, drifting away from the European Union. I hope the signal should be received, should be understood, and I hope that Georgia is still able to revise its course. But for the time being, I do not see any high probability that it will happen in the nearest future.

What are your expectations about the Georgian people managing this with the oligarch regime and the Georgian regime and the oligarchs between Iran and Israel? This personality, of course, stands behind all these processes, and we know how deep and how intense these relations with the Russian Federation are.

This is the reason why we are not only talking about drifting away from the European Union, but drifting closer to the Russian Federation because you cannot choose the middle way. If you decide and take some geopolitical steps, you cannot be in the middle. You are going westwards or you are going eastwards,” he told reporters.