Reconciliation Minister: NATO is not only a choice for Georgia, it has no alternative
Georgian Reconciliation Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili says that the decision of Georgia to become a NATO member is not targeted against anyone. Photo: Reconciliation Ministry press office.
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The Georgian Minister of Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili has stated at the international Georgian Defence and Security Conference that NATO is not only a choice for Georgia, but that the country has no alternative.
There is no alternative to NATO in a situation when we are facing severe problems of occupation,” Tsikhelashvili said.
She stated that over the course of the past 70 years NATO has played the role of security umbrella for many European countries.
We want to find ourselves under the same umbrella,” Tsikhelashvili said and stated that the decision of the Georgian people regarding the Euro-Atlantic integration is not targeted against anyone.
The Georgian Defence and Security Conference is being held for the 12th time, bringing together up to 300 people from Georgia and abroad.
The conference which discusses local and regional defence and security issues will come to an end today.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has stated at the international Georgian Defence and Security Conference in Tbilisi today that Georgia’s integration into NATO is the guarantee of peace and security in the country.
Georgian Minister of Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili has informed Georgian lawmakers about the severe violations of ethnic Georgian children and citizens in the country’s occupied Abkhazia region.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry released a statement today, expressing concern over the destructive actions of Russia that “seriously undermine” not only local meetings on conflict issues, but also the Geneva International Discussions.
The Government of Georgia has proposed legislative changes for improving the humanitarian, social and economic conditions of the populations in Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The aim of the initiative is to improve cooperation across the occupation line.
Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, who previously served as the Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia, has been appointed as the country’s new ambassador to Austria. She served as the Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality since August 2016, and the first deputy minister of the same body before that.