"Our great fear is that we may not be able to seize the opportunity we have in terms of integration into the European Union - we need to show Europe that we want democracy," Eka Gigauri, Chairwoman of Transparency International Georgia said after meeting with Derek Chollet, Counselor of the US Department of State.

As Gigauri explained, the Georgian Government is rejecting judicial and electoral reform and doing everything possible to prevent groups with different opinion from engaging in various political processes.

"They mainly listened to us. They were interested in our views on the developments in the country. What I said is that today we are in a moment when we have many problems and many opportunities. Our great fear is that we will not be able to use the opportunity we have in terms of EU integration. The Government of Georgia does not take this seriously and adds even more problems to our country every day.

We see that they are rejecting judicial and electoral reform. In fact, the situation with regard to the media environment is being aggravated every day. Of course, they do their best not to involve the civil society sector, the opposition, or any other group in political processes. There are many issues that create problems in the direction of European integration. We need to show Europe that we want democracy, reforms and membership in the European Union," Gigauri said.

Asked what positions were expressed at the meeting regarding the arrest of Nika Gvaramia, Director of the Mtavari TV, Gigauri said that no opinion was expressed by the partners, however, it was noted that they had great respect for what the civil sector was doing.

"Opinions are not expressed at such meetings. I do not know if their program provides for a press conference, they will probably say something there. What they said is that they have a great deal of respect for what the civil sector is doing. They say that our reports and opinions are very important and credible to them. They say that the Georgian people are doing everything to become part of the West. The Georgian people are highly respected," Gigauri said.