Sweden remains committed to Georgia’s territorial integrity

Sweden supports Georgia’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, says Swedish Minister of Defence Peter Hultqvis.

The Minister noted at the Defence Cooperation in a Turbulent World conference yesterday that although the Georgian-Russian conflict began in 2008, almost 20 percent of Georgia’s territory remains occupied.

I think that is something we have to think about. Many lives have been lost in the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia”, he said.

Swedish Minister says his country supports "Georgia’s right to decide its own future and foreign policy course, free from outside interference”.

The two ministers attend Defence Cooperation in a Turbulent World conference. Photo by: MOD Georgia

Georgia's Defence Minister Levan Izoria believes that along with Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations and the implementation of democratic reforms, the role of partner countries under the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package is vital. The package aims to strengthen Georgia's defence and interoperability capabilities and help Georgia advance in its preparation towards membership in the Alliance.

To ensure this, Izoria says, Swedish experts will be actively sharing their experience with their Georgian colleagues this year, which will be an important precondition for the successful implementation of reforms in the defence system.

Our countries together with other European states are facing similar threats. It obliges us to deal with these threats with a joint approach”, Izoria said referring to the territorial defense conception.

In his speech the Georgian Minister emphasized that "Russia’s invasion and occupation of Georgia’s territories in 2008 followed by its illegal annexation of Crimea and destabilization of Eastern Ukraine have deteriorated the whole Black Sea security environment”.

In order to oppose an increasingly unstable security environment in and around the Black Sea, we seek to contribute more to the efforts of the international community in projecting stability and protecting security in our own region and by further strengthening our contribution to the Euro-Atlantic security”, Izoria said.

He further noted that "in the context of enhancing the security environment, we believe it is critical that NATO increases its engagement and visibility in the region”.

DefMin Izoria:looking forward to the plans on enhancing #BlackSea presence to be finalized&to be involved in the Black Sea security dvlpmnts

— MOD Georgia (@ModGovGe) 24 January 2017

Georgia’s top defence official is paying an official visit to the Scandinavian and Baltic states. Izoria is expected to return home on January 28.