TBILISI, August 11 (Itar-Tass) — Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili prefers searching for the way to NATO and the EU.

“Anyone in Georgia tells us: let’s leave Europe alone and let’s search for the way to Vladimir Putin’s heart. Personally I think that that we should search for the way to the EU and NATO, to the freedom and development,” Saakashvili said.

In his view, “neither external forces nor internal opportunists are able to force Georgia to give up the accession to NATO and the EU.”

Meanwhile, representatives of some opposition parties say the accession to NATO cannot help solve the republic’s key problem. They say it “is necessary to pursue the policy of non-alignment to military alliances because due to Georgia’s drive for joining NATO relations with Russia complicated”.