The third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, spoke about the need to establish ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan—but did not mention Armenia.

Under the current government, Georgia is not protected from a confrontation with Russia, which could be disastrous for Georgia, Saakashvili said, appearing in absentia at a court hearing on the illegal border crossing case, reports News Georgia.

“We [i.e. Georgia] are completely defenseless and, of course, we do not need any confrontation with Russia. This would be absolutely destructive for Georgian statehood. To avoid this confrontation, we must have a type of state that is much safer. What we have today—abandonment and defenselessness—directly calls for further actions by the invaders,” Saakashvili said.

He believes that it is important for Georgia to “immediately” hold new parliamentary elections and return to the path of integration with the EU—“but before that, to make it clear that we do not want a confrontation with any of our neighbors.”

“We also need to receive security guarantees and establish ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan. The South Caucasus should unite in a single bloc, work in a mutual assistance regime, and, of course, we should all move towards Europe,” added the former Georgian president.

Mikheil Saakashvili believes that the ruling Georgian Dream party is persecuting him on behalf of Russia, since during the brief war in August 2008 between Georgia and Russia, he “saved Georgian statehood” and in 2012 handed over power peacefully, “preventing provocation.”