The most tragic thing for the country is to remain in isolation, face to face with Russia, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said in a speech to parliament.


According to her, gaining EU candidate status "means entering the European security space, thereby returning to the role of an active player in the international and regional arena.


For some of our fraternal, small Caucasian peoples, who are now considered extinct, this path was tragic.


"Europe also means strengthening independence: the European family is an alternative space where our identity, culture and values will be protected and represented. The path to Russification is not an alternative! We have gone through it. We have not erased this memory. For some of our fraternal, small Caucasian peoples, who are now considered to be disappeared, this path was tragic. This path is fatal for the Abkhaz language, culture and identity! Europe is a space where free nations, many languages, minorities, regions, diverse cultures and identities are protected by equality and law," she said.


In her speech in the Parliament, Zurabishvili also stated the need to create a "Platform for European Unity".


According to her, the new coordination center will bring together all concrete proposals on European priorities.