Georgian Interior Ministry to strengthen ties with NATO for Black Sea security
Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that closer cooperation with NATO for Black Sea security is crucial for state security. Photo: Interior Ministry press office.
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Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that the ministry and NATO will cooperate more actively in Black Sea security, as Georgia has no naval forces and the ministry is responsible for the coast’s protection.
Georgia has no naval forces and protection of the Black Sea is critically important for state security,” Gakharia told Imedi TV.
He said that the coast guard system will see major changes and improvements.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani stated back in February that it is time NATO offer a more comprehensive strategy to the Black Sea region, as a “secure Europe is unimaginable without a secured Black Sea.”
Delivering his speech at the event dedicated to Black Sea security at the Munich Security Conference , Zalkaliani said that accepting countries from the Black Sea region into the alliance will benefit NATO.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has stated that it is time NATO offer a more comprehensive strategy to the Black Sea region, as a “secure Europe is unimaginable without a secured Black Sea. Zalkaliani said that accepting countries from the Black Sea region into the alliance will benefit NATO.
The Embassy of Poland will play the role of a contact point embassy between NATO and Georgia for two years until the end of 2020.
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who served as the commanding general of the United States Army Europe, says that Georgia has left nothing to prove and NATO should invite the country to membership during its next summit, Hodges told Voice of America in an interview.
Salome Zurabishvili, the new president of Georgia, is planning to forge closer ties with NATO and the European Union for boosting both trade and security of the Black Sea region, Financial Times reports.
Two Russian military ships have been tracking the United States Ship Ross that entered the Black Sea over a week ago. The USS Ross, which aims “to strengthen interoperability with NATO allies and partners”, is visiting Georgia’s Black Sea port of Batumi from April 21-25.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze will hold the first meeting of the new National Security Council tomorrow. The Council is an eight-member advisory body, responsible for national security policy planning and coordination.
Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia has reported to parliament for the fifth time this year, pointed at the importance of transparency and stated that a modern criminal laboratory will be built in Georgia, the only one of its kind in the South Caucasus.
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who served as the commanding general of the United States Army Europe said in an interview with Europe Time he would like to see the USA increase its infrastructure in Georgia, especially to support rotational forces and strategic air lift regarding the Karabakh conflict and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region.