Georgia moving closer to NATO membership, says Foreign Minister
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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.
Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili’s comments contradicted French president Francois Hollande’s statement, who said: "NATO enlargement is not on the agenda at this stage" after meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Paris yesterday.
The Frenchman emphasised his country would refuse countries who were applying for NATO membership – such as Georgia.
Today Beruchashvili said NATO members often had "different views at different times” but the most important thing was the Alliance had a united voice at the NATO Summits.
An open-door principle is the principle of NATO, which has been based on the Alliance of all the declarations and documents. Georgia today is an aspirant country. In this regard, [Hollande’s] specific reference was made at a meeting held between NATO and Defence Ministers. NATO’s position was reflected at the Bucharest Summit Declaration, which strictly adheres to both Georgia and the Alliance,” she said.
The declaration clearly emphasised Georgia’s readiness to work on implementing priority issues discussed at the NATO Summit in Bucharest. "NATO membership is Georgia’s main aspiration and the country strictly adheres to the decision made at the Bucharest Summit,” Beruchashvili said.
Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili responded to the French President’s comments today and said: "NATO decisions are not made by only one country but by all member states.”
NATO member states are taking into account when they make decisions. We have close ties with NATO with the strong agreement that was made at the Wales Summit last year. Before the next Warsaw Summit in 2016, all opinions made by officials should be received as personal opinion, [not the opinion of the Alliance as a whole] and cannot affect the process itself,” Usupashvili said.
United States Ambassador in Georgia Richard Norland said Georgia was strengthening its economy and defensive security capabilities in order to integrate into NATO.
I am not going to make comments specifically on the statement of a leader of a NATO country. I would just say I think it is an important thing for Georgia to do everything it can to enhance its qualifications for NATO membership.”
"Right now Georgia is doing everything it can and I think when the time comes, NATO will make the appropriate decisions," Norland stated.
The next NATO Summit will be held in 2016 in Warsaw, Poland.
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.
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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 - a top NATO official said.
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.
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.
NATO will soon have a bigger presence in Georgia as it helps support the country move towards Alliance membership.
Georgia is stuck in a difficult place as it pursues its Euro-Atlantic future while facing continued pressure from Russia, says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a speaking engagement in the United States (US).