NATO chief details package to “bring Georgia closer” to Alliance
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NATO may hold military exercises in Georgia and establish a military training centre in the country, see more Georgian participation in NATO exercises and possibly expand the local NATO liaison office, said a top NATO official at the final press conference before this week’s NATO Summit in Wales.
NATO’s outgoing Security General Anders Fogh Rasmussen shed some light on the "unprecedented package” being offered to Georgia at the September 4-5 Summit, which aimed to bring Georgia closer to the Alliance.
While he couldn’t divulge the full package, Rasmussen stressed there were "very concrete measures” in place that would bring Georgia closer to NATO.
He said the package NATO planned to offer would assist Georgia continue reforms and modernisation of the defence and security sector and "step up” its efforts to improve the ability of the Georgian Armed Forces to work and operate alongside NATO forces, "including more Georgian participation in NATO exercises”.
"Thirdly, occasional military exercises might also be organised in Georgia, in particular with a view to engaging NATO partners in such exercises,” Rasmussen said.
"Fourth, we are also considering the establishment of a military training centre in Georgia again with a particular view to engaging NATO partners. There might also be a regional dimension in such a training centre.”
Furthermore, the NATO official also said there was a possibility to expand the NATO liaison office in Tbilisi.
"The Georgia package will definitely bring Georgia closer to NATO,” Rasmussen told journalists at the media conference in Brussels yesterday.
In June it was decided Georgia would not be offered a Membership Action Plan (MAP) but NATO said the country would be offered an "unprecedented package” to bring Georgia closer to the Alliance.
Meanwhile, Rasmussen’s press conference to global media focussed on possible action NATO would take in response to the ongoing crises in the world. He believed this was a "crucial summit in NATO’s history” and it would "address the challenges of a changed world”.
"This is a time of multiple crises on several fronts. To the east, Russia is intervening overtly in Ukraine. To the south, we see growing instability, with fragile states, the rise of extremism, and sectarian strife.”
"NATO's greatest responsibility remains to protect and defend our populations and our territories. We also need the capacity to manage crises. And to work with partners to help build stability. So at the Summit, we will ensure that the Alliance remains ready, able and willing to defend all Allies against any attack,” Rasmussen said.
With many possible changes on the agenda to make NATO "fitter, faster and more flexible to adjust to all kinds of security challenges”, Rasmussen emphasized the reason behind this was not because NATO wanted to attack anyone, "but because the dangers and the threats are more present and more visible. And we will do what it takes to defend our Allies”.
With six days to go until Georgia participates in the NATO Summit in Wales, Georgian high officials are looking forward to positive outcomes from the annual meeting.
Details of a phone conversation between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and US Vice President Joe Biden was published on the Georgian Government’s and the White House official websites on August 22.
The two officials spoke about the processes taking place in the region, topics expected to be discussed at the September NATO Summit in Wales and other important issues, said Garibashvili’s press service.
Georgia has the full support of Germany. This was what German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in a phone conversation today.
The NATO Summit meeting in Wales comes at a critical time in the Alliance’s history – when the global security environment is becoming increasingly unpredictable and unstable, says NATO.
Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili enjoyed a phone conversation with Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite and discussed regional security and preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit, due to be held on September 4 and 5 in Wales.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Georgia will not be offered a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the NATO Summit in Wales in September.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has agreed in principle to offer "a substantive package” to Georgia to help it come closer to NATO but made no mention of membership.
A Georgian delegation, led by President Giorgi Margvelashvili, has left for the United Kingdom to take part in the NATO Summit in Wales on September 4 and 5.
On the opening day of the NATO Summit in Wales, Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili met NATO’s top official and spoke briefly on the support package NATO will offer Georgia in the next two days.
The State Minister of Georgia for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Alex Petriashvili explains the meaning of the package being offered by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) to Georgia at the NATO Summit in the United Kingdom.
The President of Georgia participated in a meeting of leaders of ISAF countries at the NATO Summit in Wales last night and addressed the audience.
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‘NATO will assist Georgia, Jordan and Iraq’, is the pledge British Prime Minister David Cameron made today at a meeting on the second day of the NATO Summit in Wales.
Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelasvili is rubbing shoulders with world leaders at the NATO Summit in Wales, United Kingdom.
Georgia’s efforts have been recognised by NATO leaders at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Summit in Wales. NATO officials praised Georgia for its efforts to progress its nation and reconfirmed its intentions to one day invite Georgia into the Alliance.
The NATO Summit in Wales has ended and the President of Georgia is leaving on a high note. Giorgi Margvelashvili commended the UK Government for its "gracious hospitality and excellent organisation of the Summit" and thanked the Georgian delegation "for achieving success" at the international leaders' meeting.
The US President’s Administration issued a statement that emphasized the efforts of the US an NATO to support Alliance partners and share their burdens and support them when needed "to accomplish our common security goals”.
NATO’s representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia region has explained a part of the Wales Summit Declaration relating to conflict in the region.
Days after the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit in Wales ended, United States (US) Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel is visiting Georgia on his first official visit. In a meeting with Georgian officials yesterday, Hagel pledged the US would help the former Soviet republic improve its security.
Georgia has done "an extremely good job” of becoming interoperable with NATO, the Alliance’s top military commander says.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili believes no foreign miltary units would be deployed in Georgia without agreement of the country's lawmakers.
Georgia’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed NATO member states will undergo military training in Georgia.
NATO-Georgia officials are gathering in Brussels today to discuss how Georgia will implement the Substantive Package, offered by the Alliance at last month’s NATO Summit in Wales.
Georgia’s implementation plan of the NATO-Georgia Substantive Package was discussed at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium by Georgian and NATO officials.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of U.S. European Command, General Philip Breedlove discussed the implementation of the Substantive Package, Georgia’s participation in the Afghan 2015 mission and regional threats with Georgian leadership.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili is set to meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels this month.
NATO will soon have a bigger presence in Georgia as it helps support the country move towards Alliance membership.
Georgia’s Foreign Minister is in the Swiss city of Basel to take part in the 21st Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial, which is due to be attended by some 50 foreign ministers.
NATO and Georgia officials have gathered in Brussels to discuss the country's progress of reforms and how the Alliance can assist Georgia as it moves to realise its European aspirations.
Signing the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union (EU) and adoption of the NATO Substantial Package are among the top achievements of Georgia's Foreign Ministry in the past two years, says Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow is set to visit Georgia in two days' time.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow believes all tools are in place for Georgia to move forward with its desire to integrate into Euro-Atlantic structures.
NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow has begun his two-day visit to Georgia today.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow is calling on Georgian political leaders to continue along its European path, maintain its high standard of reforms and work within its existing political course.
"The Georgian Army is one of the best in the world." These were the words of NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow when he addressed a crowd at the Vaziani military base today.
In 2014 Georgia made "significant contributions" to NATO-led operations and strengthened its relationship with the Alliance, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted in his 2014 annual report which summed up the past 12 months of NATO activities.
Georgian Minister of Defence Mindia Janelidze will take part in the NATO Defence Ministerial on 4-5 February.
A Georgian delegation involving the country's Minister of Defence, Mindia Janelidze, has met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and a team from NATO at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels.
The NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC) at the level of Defence Ministers is applauding Georgia’s progress in implementing the NATO substantial package and reaffirmed that Georgia has come closer to the Alliance through its ambitious reforms.
Today's meeting between Georgia and NATO Commission members reaffirmed that Georgia is a "very close and strong partner of NATO", Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced at a press conference following today's meeting.
Georgia's Defence Minister Mindia Janelidze has met United States (US) Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel at the NATO headquarters in Brussels today.
A Georgian Parliamentary delegation has left for Brussels to participate in the Georgia-NATO Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.
Georgia is moving closer to NATO membership despite the difficulties facing the nation, says Georgia’s Foreign Minister, in response to the comments of one Alliance member who said he was against the enlargement of the intergovernmental military group.
Georgia's Ministry of Defence has received a glowing letter from NATO that positively assessed Georgia's Vaziani military base as the "perfect location" for the NATO joint training centre.
The NATO-Georgia joint Training and Assessment Centre will open in Tbilisi by the end of the fall, Deputy Minister of Defence Levan Girsiashvili said today.
A NATO assessment team involved in the establishment of the new NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre has finished its first visit to Georgia.
"Romania is one of the strongest supporters of Georgia”, says head of Romania’s Defence Ministry Mircea Dusa.
The United States (US) will grant $20 million USD to Georgia for security assistance, which will go towards funding Georgia’s reforms, training and equipping Georgian troops and more.
Georgia is asking NATO to offer the country a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the Warsaw Summit planned for July 2016.
Alongside with 17 countries Georgian soldiers are participating in United States-led NATO naval exercise at the Baltic Sea.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) top official is looking at his calendar and deciding on a date to come to Georgia for the first time.
A high-ranking official from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has commended Georgia for its "considerable” reforms.
Georgia’s ambitions for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) membership and Russia’s aggressive activities on Georgian soil were high on the agenda of Georgia’s Defence Minister during her official visit to Canada.
Permanent representatives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) have commended Georgia on the reforms carried out in 2015 and its efforts to improve in a range of areas to meet top, international standards.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) claims it remains committed to its open-door policy and is encouraging its partners to continue implementing necessary reforms to prepare for Alliance membership.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia is welcoming a decision by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to affirm its ‘open door’ policy is available to aspirant countries.