NATO welcomes Georgia’s reform progress

NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow (R) meets with Georgian Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili. Photo by NATO press service.
Agenda.ge, 22 Jul 2015 - 18:47, Tbilisi,Georgia

A high-ranking official from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has commended Georgia for its "considerable" reforms.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow welcomed Georgia’s Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili to Brussels today and acknowledged the "good progress” the country had made regarding the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, which aimed to help Georgia strengthen and develop its forces and defence system.

Meanwhile today a meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission was held in Brussels where diplomats from all NATO member states thanked Tbilisi for its "major contribution” to NATO missions and operations.

"[These contributions] have further developed Georgia’s ability to work seamlessly alongside Allied forces,” said the NATO diplomats.

Georgia is currently the second largest contributor to the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. Since 2010 Georgia has lost 30 soldiers and 273 have been wounded in NATO peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan.

Usupashvili briefed NATO officials about the current tense situation along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) between Georgia’s breakaway Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) and the rest of the country. At this site earlier this month Russian occupation forces advanced 2km deeper into Georgian territory.

Vershbow further made clear that NATO allies "fully” supported Georgia’s territorial integrity within its internationally-recognised borders.

Following the meeting Usupashvili said the talks lasted an hour longer than scheduled as NATO allies were "very interested in what is going on in Georgia”.

The Commission encouraged Georgia to continue its efforts to implement the Substantial Package.

Georgia is an aspirant country for NATO membership. It actively contributes to NATO-led operations and cooperates with the Alliance's allies and other partner countries in many other areas.

At the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, allied heads of state and governments agreed Georgia would become a member of NATO. This decision was subsequently reconfirmed at successive NATO Summits in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014.