On June 28, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili gave an interview to CNN.

Zourabichvili expressed her surprise at how quickly the Wagner Group's recent uprising in Russia moved forward. Given the past treatment of rebels and war captives in Russia, she thought it odd that Yevgeny Prigozhin believed Putin's assurances of protection, saying, "When you are either a rebel or even a war prisoner, it's never forgiven." Given Lukashenko's failure to defend Belarus' independence from Russia, Zourabichvili questioned his capacity to provide security assurances. She said that as Russia's intentions in Ukraine continued to fail, debates about the unification of Europe and NATO, as well as the expansion of the EU, began to take place, which she thought was an unexpected development for Russia.

In conversations with NATO, she highlighted the significance of providing security assurances for Ukraine. She said that "any advancement of Ukraine will, in the end, benefit Georgia. Zourabichvili highlighted the worries and possible dangers related to Russia's employment of soft power strategies regarding the existence of Russian refugees in Georgia. She emphasized the significance of limiting the number of Russians entering Georgia so that they do not serve as an excuse for Russian action.

While the roads to joining the EU and NATO are parallel, according to Zourabichvili, the EU appears to be closer today since Russia's war in Ukraine has sped up the enlargement. She also emphasized that Georgia hopes to achieve candidate status by the end of the year, which would be a big step after receiving the EU perspective, which dispelled any concerns about Georgia's geographic membership in the union. She argued that despite continuing changes that may not entirely satisfy the EU, "the EU cannot afford to lose Georgia." The president stated that when Georgia receives candidate status, the EU might offer helpful criticism and other suggestions.