Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Georgia is under big pressure and there is an attempt to undermine the country's foreign policy, President Mikheil Saakashvili said at a forum in Greece on Thursday.

He was addressing a meeting of the European People's Party forum on the theme "Deepening relations with the East," which takes place in Athens.

"What happened in Georgia in October last year at the latest election, and what happened a few days ago in the parliament of Moldova completely changes the balance. This is a setback for our European choice," Saakashvili said.

The president stressed that big money was spent to win the elections in Georgia.

"These very financial manipulations and big money played a deciding role. A few days ago, under exactly the same scenario, money came into politics in Moldova. The result was that Prime Minister Filat was deposed, and Moldova's prospects are unclear again," he said.

Saakashvili said that pro-Western forces in Georgia are under "big pressure". "There is a clear attempt to undermine the foreign policy and undermine the partnership with countries such as Azerbaijan," Saakashvili said.

As part of his two-day visit Saakashvili had a meeting with Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. The meeting took place within an official dinner of the European People's Party, according to a statement of the presidential administration.

The parties discussed aspects of cooperation between the two countries and the support of the European and Euro-Atlantic direction of Georgia.

Further, Saakashvili is due to leave Greece for the United States where he will attend the AEI World Forum. Saakashvili is also scheduled to make a speech whereby he will speak about the situation in Georgia in the period after the October 1, 2012 parliamentary elections.