Georgian leader sees NATO future, seeks tough line on Russia

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili speaks to the Associated Press during an interview on the margins of the 108th session of the International Labour Conference - ILO Centenary Session, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, June 10, 2019. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP))

GENEVA – Georgia's president is calling on Western allies to do more to face up to Russia and the "very heavy pressure" she says Moscow has put on her Caucasus nation.

Salome Zurabishvili took office as Georgia's first woman president in December. A former French diplomat who was born in Paris to Georgian parents, she insists Georgia will one day join the European Union and NATO.

George lost control of the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia after an August 2008 war with Russia.

Russia has strengthened its military presence in both regions and recognized them as independent states.

Zurabishvili joined about two dozen other heads of state and government — including Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev — for the International Labor Organization's centennial that opened in Geneva on Monday.