NATO will offer ‘substantive package' to Georgia
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has agreed in principle to offer "a substantive package” to Georgia to help it come closer to NATO but made no mention of membership.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen did not clarify the nature of the package, nor did he mention the possibility of Georgia being offered a Membership Action Plan (MAP), an arrangement seen as a prelude to full membership.
"This is a Summit decision but we have agreed in principle that we will develop a substantive package for Georgia that will help it come closer to NATO. We will work out the elements in the coming weeks,” Rasmussen said at the doorstep prior to the meetings of NATO Foreign Affairs Ministers in Brussels today.
At a working dinner on Tuesday night in Brussels, NATO foreign ministers discussed how to address the Alliance’s open door policy at the September Summit in Wales.
"NATO’s door remains open and no third country has a veto over NATO enlargement. Each country will continue to be judged on its merits. Each one has work to do in different areas. And we will give aspirants the support they need to get them through the door,” Rasmussen said.
He also mentioned that the progress made by the four NATO-aspirant countries - Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia – was also discussed.
"NATO will assess at the latest by the end of 2015 whether to invite Montenegro to join the Alliance,” he added.
In recent years Rasmussen has several times mentioned that NATO was standing behind the decision made at the Bucharest Summit in 2008 that the MAP should be the next step for Georgia on its "direct way to membership”. Georgia did not receive a MAP then but those at the Bucharest Summit pledged that Georgia will join NATO sometime in the future.
NATO’s support to Ukraine and the implications of Russia’s actions, the future of Afghanistan and preparations for the NATO Summit in Wales topped the agenda of the two-day meeting of the Alliance’s 28 foreign ministers, which started on Tuesday.
They will assess measures the Alliance has taken to strengthen collective defence in view of the changed security situation in Europe due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. They will also review relations with Russia.
Georgia's Foreign Minister said Rasmussen "abosolutely agreed” that Georgia had made significant progress in recent years and that it should be adequately praised from the Alliance.
A positive report of Georgia and the success of its recent local elections could play an important part in the country’s future relationship with NATO.
Head of the NATO Alliance Office in Georgia, William Lahew, believed the differing perspectives of NATO member countries was complicating the decision to grant Georgia a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the NATO Summit in Wales.
In an interview with Reuters, Georgia’s Minister of Defence said he was hopeful the country would receive a Membership Action Plan (MAP) to further its relationship with NATO at the upcoming NATO Summit in Wales.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is confident the NATO Summit in Wales will appropriately recognize Georgia’s progress.
A Georgian Master-Sergeant has been awarded a prestigious US medal for outstanding service to the military in a ceremony today at the Master-Sergeant National Training Centre Krtsanisi.
Georgia’s participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations is being discussed between Georgia’s Defence Minister and a UN representative at the UN headquarters in New York.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has a "pretty restrained approach” to enlarging its alliance, said Georgian authorities after NATO offered "a substantive package” to the country but made no mention of potential NATO membership.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Georgia will not be offered a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the NATO Summit in Wales in September.
Elements of the "an unprecedented package” which Georgia will be offered from NATO is already revealed by NATO Secretary General Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai.
NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai will pay an official visit to Georgia to discuss the "substantive package” NATO will offer Georgia at the Wales Summit in September.
Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili will represent the country at the NATO Summit in Wales in September.
NATO’s regional envoy for the Caucasus region has offered his reassurances to the Georgian nation that the country will become more secure following the NATO Summit in Wales later this year.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) should support non-member countries to build up their defensive capabilities to allow them to protect their region.
With six days to go until Georgia participates in the NATO Summit in Wales, Georgian high officials are looking forward to positive outcomes from the annual meeting.
NATO may hold military exercises in Georgia and establish a military training centre in the country, see more Georgian participation in NATO exercises and possibly expand the local NATO liaison office - a top NATO official said.
A Georgian delegation, led by President Giorgi Margvelashvili, has left for the United Kingdom to take part in the NATO Summit in Wales on September 4 and 5.
The State Minister of Georgia for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Alex Petriashvili explains the meaning of the package being offered by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) to Georgia at the NATO Summit in the United Kingdom.
The President of Georgia participated in a meeting of leaders of ISAF countries at the NATO Summit in Wales last night and addressed the audience.
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‘NATO will assist Georgia, Jordan and Iraq’, is the pledge British Prime Minister David Cameron made today at a meeting on the second day of the NATO Summit in Wales.
Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelasvili is rubbing shoulders with world leaders at the NATO Summit in Wales, United Kingdom.
Georgia’s efforts have been recognised by NATO leaders at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Summit in Wales. NATO officials praised Georgia for its efforts to progress its nation and reconfirmed its intentions to one day invite Georgia into the Alliance.
The NATO Summit in Wales has ended and the President of Georgia is leaving on a high note. Giorgi Margvelashvili commended the UK Government for its "gracious hospitality and excellent organisation of the Summit" and thanked the Georgian delegation "for achieving success" at the international leaders' meeting.
The US President’s Administration issued a statement that emphasized the efforts of the US an NATO to support Alliance partners and share their burdens and support them when needed "to accomplish our common security goals”.
NATO’s representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia region has explained a part of the Wales Summit Declaration relating to conflict in the region.
Days after the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit in Wales ended, United States (US) Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel is visiting Georgia on his first official visit. In a meeting with Georgian officials yesterday, Hagel pledged the US would help the former Soviet republic improve its security.
NATO-Georgia officials are gathering in Brussels today to discuss how Georgia will implement the Substantive Package, offered by the Alliance at last month’s NATO Summit in Wales.
Georgia’s implementation plan of the NATO-Georgia Substantive Package was discussed at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium by Georgian and NATO officials.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of U.S. European Command, General Philip Breedlove discussed the implementation of the Substantive Package, Georgia’s participation in the Afghan 2015 mission and regional threats with Georgian leadership.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili will go to NATO headquarters in Brussels next month to discuss the substantial NATO-Georgia package at a meeting with newly-appointed Norwegian NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
NATO and Georgia officials have gathered in Brussels to discuss the country's progress of reforms and how the Alliance can assist Georgia as it moves to realise its European aspirations.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow is set to visit Georgia in two days' time.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow believes all tools are in place for Georgia to move forward with its desire to integrate into Euro-Atlantic structures.
NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow has begun his two-day visit to Georgia today.
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Georgian Minister of Defence Mindia Janelidze will take part in the NATO Defence Ministerial on 4-5 February.
A Georgian delegation involving the country's Minister of Defence, Mindia Janelidze, has met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and a team from NATO at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels.
The NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC) at the level of Defence Ministers is applauding Georgia’s progress in implementing the NATO substantial package and reaffirmed that Georgia has come closer to the Alliance through its ambitious reforms.
Russia will take "measures” if NATO tries to "lure” Georgia into the alliance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says.
Georgia’s integration with NATO is "a priority of the country’s foreign policy” and third parties cannot have any influence on this process, says a Georgian Foreign Ministry representative.
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Georgia is a "strong partner” and an "important contributor” to NATO’s "shared security” – these were the words of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when he hosted Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili in Brussels today.
President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic accepted Georgian PM"s invitation to visit Georgia in the near future and also invited Mamuka Bakhtadze to Montenegro. The two leaders met at the 55th Munich Security Conference.