Presidential candidate Levan Gachechiladze met with groups representing ethnic minorities in Georgia on December 18.

“I will be the president for every citizen of Georgia; we are building a European-style democracy,” Gachechiladze told reporters after the meeting. “Of course, the priority is Georgian, Georgian and Georgian, but ethnic minorities – as citizens of this country – should also feel comfortable in this country.”

Participants at the meeting were less than impressed with Gachechiladze’s remarks. “He said the priority would be Georgian, Georgian and Georgian and only then ethnic minorities; we are again facing double-standards; so it turns out that we are still second class citizens,” Mikhail Aizinov of the Russian-language journalists' union said after the meeting.