Georgia wants to be part of Europe

Membership in the European Union and NATO is what Georgia's foreign policy is aimed at. President Eduard Shevardnadze made a statement to this effect on the national television on Friday night.

Georgia is also set to preserve special relations with the United States, added the leader.

"As to relations with Russia, they have to be brought to normal. This is vital for the settlement of, among other things, the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Osetia (Georgia's autonomies that proclaimed independence after the armed conflicts of the 1990s)," said President Shevardnadze.

He believes Georgia's and Russia's foreign political priorities coincide in this respect.