Georgia asks for NATO Membership Action Plan at Warsaw Summit

Georgia is asking NATO to offer the country a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the Warsaw Summit planned for July 2016.

Meanwhile, the NATO Secretary General will come to Georgia sometime this year and will presumably open the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre during his trip.

These were the main topics discussed at a meeting between Georgia’s Minister of Defence Tinatin Khidasheli and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels yesterday.

"The Warsaw Summit was the main topic of discussion not only at this particular meeting but it will be the main topic at every meeting I will hold from today until July 9, 2016,” Khidasheli said.

"Our position is known to everyone – we are asking for the NATO-Georgia relationship to move to an essentially new stage.”

Another topic heavily discussed at yesterday’s meeting was establishment of the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre.

Afterwards Minister Khidasheli said the location of the Centre had already been chosen by the Georgian side and now the country was waiting for NATO’s approval.

"We are waiting for their answer, after which works will start,” Khidasheli said.

"We received a promise from the Secretary General that he will come to Georgia this year and maybe we will symbolically open the training centre during his visit. But it’s just a plan so far.”

Implementation of the NATO-Georgia Substantial Package was also discussed at the meeting.

This was Khidasheli’s first visit to the NATO headquarters as Georgia’s Minister of Defence.

Georgia is an aspirant country for NATO membership. It actively contributes to NATO-led operations and cooperates with Allies and other partner countries in many other areas.

At the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, allied heads of state and governments agreed Georgia will become a member of NATO. This decision was subsequently reconfirmed at successive NATO Summits in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014.