US Senator John McCain will visit Georgia

Senior United States (US) Senator John McCain will soon come to Georgia.

The visit was announced after McCain met Georgia’s President Giorgi Marvelashvili in Slovakia on the sideline of the Bratislava Global Security Forum (GLOBSEC) earlier today.

The sides discussed US-Georgia relations and stressed the importance of Georgia’s contribution to NATO’s international peace missions.

President Margvelashvili invited the US Senator to attend an annual Ambassadorial in Tbilisi scheduled for September. To this, McCain said he would visit Georgia "by all means”.

While in Slovakia Margvelashvili also met Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic. The two leaders discussed the implementation of the NATO-Georgia Substantial Package, which the Alliance offered to Georgia at the Wales Summit last year.

Margvelashvili said Georgia welcomed Montenegro’s possible NATO and European Union membership and expressed his interest to learn more about Montenegro’s experience in European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Within the framework of the Global Security Forum, the Georgian President spoke at a session titled "Fluctuation Zone: EU Neighborhood Strategy", dedicated to security concerns in Eastern Partnership countries.

Margvelashvili focused on the situation in the occupied territories of Georgia, the importance of Georgia’s geopolitical role for Europe and the significance of security within Eastern Partnership countries for the safety of Europe.

He paid special attention to the threats that existed in the region and to Russia's neighbourhood policy.

"Russian politicians send a clear message about their attitude to neighbouring countries. They regard the countries as their "territorial property" where they are authorised to use military force,” Margvelashvili said, adding such a policy did not bring any profit to Russia or the region. 

The Georgian President said if there was any tension in Russia’s neighbouring countries, "we may think that it will turn into a big problem”.

The Secretary General of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Lamberto Zannier also took part in the same session.