Today Georgia celebrates Independence Day. A protest rally will be held in Tbilisi under the slogan “Always and everywhere, Georgia, I am with you” against the law on foreign agents. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said at the solemn celebration ceremony that today no one will force the Georgian people to live in the shackles of a foreign country and foreign dogmas.

“There is only one real war party, and that is Russian imperialism. At a time when Georgia's independence and its European future seem in danger, do not give in to hopelessness. This country and its independence were given by you, the citizens of this country. I hear your voice, I understand your emotions and experiences, your fears and the unbearable thoughts that have crept in that what we fought for together seems to be slipping out of our hands today. But I also know that the Georgian people will not allow this. We will not allow it,” the president said.

Ms. Zurabishvili considers the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country this October to be a historic referendum. According to her, “the path to maintaining stability lies only through elections.” “Elections are the only way and measure of democracy; elections are the main test for democracy, which should also assess our readiness to join the EU,” the president emphasized.

Zurabishvili is convinced that the Georgian people have to make a major choice: “either a European, democratic, independent Georgia, or a Russia-based, authoritarian and isolated Georgia.”

“Such a choice is called a popular referendum. That is why the upcoming elections will have the same significance for our country as the elections of 1918 or the referendum of 1991, that is, the historical decision of the country! The voice of the people and the will of the people must revive the Georgian nation and restore faith in themselves and their capabilities,” the president optimistically summed up.

The EU Embassy in Georgia also congratulated the country on Independence Day. The statement said that the European Union continues to firmly support the independence and territorial integrity of Georgia.