Stoltenberg: NATO supports Georgia as the country aims for membership

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that the Alliance supports Georgia’s aspirations to become a NATO member.

"Georgia is implementing impressive reforms, strengthening their democratic institutions, modernising their defence institutional structures, and fighting corruption; and all of this is partly at least because of the aspirations to join NATO”, Stoltenberg said.

"I always underlined that to implement that kind of reforms is good because you move closer to NATO; but even if the aim is not to move closer to NATO, you should be able to fight corruption and strengthen democratic institutions”.

He added that there is double reason to do it in a country like Georgia, which is aiming for NATO membership.

"And we support them, NATO support them with this process”, he said.

"So NATO’s door is open, and we will continue to stress the message that the enlargement or whether NATO is going to have more members it is up to applicant country to decide and 28 (soon to be 29) countries that are members and no one else has the right to intervene.”

The NATO Secretary-General made these comments during the discussion of „Future of NATO" at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University in the US yesterday.