NATO supports Georgia’s integration into Alliance

Georgia’s relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the county’s integration into the Alliance was the focus of an official meeting between Georgian and NATO high officials in Belgium, Brussels.

Last evening Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikheil Janelidze met NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow and spoke about future prospects of cooperation – something Georgia is eager to take full advantage of.

Georgia's Foreign Ministry twitted.

@NATO supports Georgia's ambitious reform agenda https://t.co/J9hjIqhvJFpic.twitter.com/3scHWytoDP

— estNATO (@estNATO) March 2, 2016

The Alliance and Georgia both agreed they were ready to take a joint step that would ensure political support for Georgia’s NATO integration, as well as practical support to upgrade Georgia’s self-defences, read a statement by Georgian Foreign Ministry.

While noting the progress Georgia has made in this regard, Vershbow praised Georgia’s democratic reforms that served to strengthen the rule of law, democratic institutions and protect human rights in Georgia but he noted the need for continued momentum to further Georgia’s reform efforts.

The NATO high official thanked Janelidze for his country’s contributions to the Alliance’s peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan. These contributions enabled Georgian forces to achieve a high degree of interoperability with NATO forces, he was quoted as saying in a statement on NATO’s official webpage.

Vershbow also highlighted the progress made regarding the NATO-Georgia Substantial Package of support. He stressed the country’s implementation efforts were on the right track but noted the importance of continued work to implement this support package.

The NATO official then underscored the Alliance was open to exploring ways to strengthen its cooperation with Georgia, and he reiterated NATO was committed to supporting Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Georgia’s preparation for this year’s NATO Warsaw Summit in Poland was discussed and before the meeting ended, Vershbow said Georgia had made good progress towards becoming a future member of NATO.

The NATO-Georgia Commission was established in September 2008 to serve as a forum for political consultations and practical cooperation to help Georgia achieve its goal of membership in NATO. Photo by the Foreign Ministry of Georgia.

After the meeting, the NATO-Georgia Commission gathered and discussed the key issues about Georgia’s progression to NATO.

The sides spoke about the implementation of the NATO-Georgia Substantial Package of support and discussed how the Alliance and Georgia can enhance their relations – politically and practically – ahead of this year’s NATO Warsaw Summit in Poland.