The Vice-Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olga Stefanyshina, expressed her regret in connection with the statements of the Georgian Prime Minister that the Russian Federation's war was allegedly provoked by Ukraine's desire to join NATO, and recalled that until recently Georgia itself actively sought to join .

 She said this at the Globsec forum in Bratislava, where Iraklii Garibashvili's statement was heard the day before.

 Stefanyshyn recalled that not long ago, before the full-scale war, Georgia was even closer to joining NATO than Ukraine.

 "It is very unfortunate for Ukraine to hear such messages. We are very sorry for Georgia, which is now in a situation where senior government officials can make such statements. We stand with the Georgian people. We know that there are still great opportunities for transformations and acceleration of Georgia's movement along the European path," said Olha Stefanyshina.

 It will be recalled that the day before at the same site, in his speech, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Iraklii Garibashvili, called Ukraine's desire to join NATO one of the reasons why the Russian Federation launched a full-scale war against it.