"We are not perfect, however, Georgia does not have the luxury of being denied candidate status a second time"

"We are not perfect, but I think Georgia cannot afford the luxury of being denied candidate status a second time," Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said during a speech at Oxford University. She said the denial of candidate status has caused some disappointment among the country's population.

"I am one of those who criticize the lack of reforms in the country, and also criticize when the country is not moving in the direction it should. It is clear that we are not perfect, but I don't think Georgia has the luxury of being denied candidate status a second time. We should get the candidate status as soon as possible, because that is a strategic message for Russia... the main thing we have to remember is that there is no alternative but the European perspective," Zurabishvili says.