President Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga and the Prime Minister of Latvia Aigars Kalvitis, Parliament Speaker of Georgia Nino Burjanadze, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II and other officials attended the Parade today dedicated to the Independence Day of Georgia.

President Saakashvili underlined that participation of the President of Latvia in the Independence Day Parade was symbolic since Georgia and the Baltic states were the first to get independence after the fall of the Soviet Union.

In his congratulation speech President Saakashvili spoke about the country's achievements after the Rose Revolution and the current developments.

"Georgia's Rose Revolution, just like our national liberation movement in the past, paved the way for a new and very important wave of Europe's liberation", President Saakashvili said, adding that Georgia managed to fight corruption and bring some social benefits such as free emergency care. He, however, said that despite all the achievements there were still a lot of hardships to overcome.

"We shall get to the end of this long and very difficult road [to European Union and NATO] by our joint efforts, our unity and our endurance," the President stated. Speaking of Georgia-Russian relations, Mikheil Saakashvili underlined Georgia's desire to live in friendly, benign and equal relationships with Russia.

Communications Office
of the President of Georgia