US Senator Portman: Biden administration should urge NATO to provide MAP for Georgia, Ukraine
US Senator Rob Portman has spoken about the threats Georgia and Ukraine face from Russia. Photo: Associated Press.
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US Senator Rob Portman, who has recently visited Georgia, stated that the US government should urge NATO ahead of the June 14 summit to provide a membership action plan (MAP) for Georgia and Ukraine.
In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Portman said that getting both countries on the path to NATO membership would help protect them against Russian aggression.
The US must continue to stand with democracies under threat and opposed to Russia’s tyranny. When President Biden meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva later this month, he must take a strong stand for freedom, democracy and human rights. The free world will be watching,” Portman stated.
He also said that Georgia is one of America’s closest allies in the region, ‘so Russia’s actions should be concerning.’
Portman recalled his recent trip in Eastern Europe and said that ‘what I found most troubling on this trip was the renewed Russian effort to destabilize these young democracies.’
He said that Georgia and Ukraine have become ‘reliable US allies as their citizens have sought a democratic future with greater freedom and prosperity. But they need our help.’
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili in Brussels earlier today where he said that the recent judgement of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Russia-Georgia 2008 war case ‘confirms that Russia is responsible for human rights violations in Georgia’s occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) regions, and that Russia actually exercises control there’.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has responded to Georgia’s recent victory in the Russia-Georgia 2008 war case in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The Baltic states are united in advocating stronger support for aspiring partners Georgia and Ukraine during the NATO June 14 summit, Lithuanian President Ginatas Nauseda has tweeted. Georgia and Ukraine will not attend the one-day summit in Brussels because only the member states will participate in it. Georgian parliamentary parties signed a joint statement yesterday, ahead of the summit, in which they urged NATO and its member states to continue close partnership with Georgia.
Georgian parliamentary parties signed a joint statement earlier today in which they urged NATO and its member states to continue close partnership with Georgia. The parties signed the document ahead of a NATO summit on June 14 in Brussels which will not be attended by the alliance’s partner states Georgia and Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has stated that only member states will participate in the 2021 one-day summit.
Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani says Georgia will be among the priority issues at the upcoming NATO summit of June 14, 'as a result of our active diplomatic efforts'.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said ahead of the upcoming NATO summit that the progress that Georgia has achieved on its path to NATO integration will be adequately assessed and respected.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has been invited to participate and deliver a speech at Brussels Forum which will take place in parallel with the NATO June 14 summit, the Georgian Foreign Ministry says. The ministry states that the NATO secretary general, German chancellor, Canadian PM and other top foreign officials will also participate in the forum.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that not only Georgia but regional countries have been subjected to emerging security threats and urged for joint efforts against the challenge.“We are looking into ways to protect ourselves,” Garibashvili said as a keynote speaker at the Brussels forum today which is being held during the June 14-18 NATO summit and comprises several thematic panels, including the Investing in Resilience panel where Garibashvili was invited to deliver his speech.
“Georgia’s relationship with the alliance contains all the practical tools to prepare for eventual membership. We are working closely with Georgia on security in the Black Sea region, in response to Russia’s increasingly destabilising activities, and welcome the steps taken to implement the refreshed Substantial NATO-Georgia Package. We stand ready to enhance our support to Georgia, including in building resilience against hybrid threats, in training and exercises, and in secure communications. We look forward to the next NATO-Georgia exercise in 2022,” said the communique.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is concerned over grave human rights violations and ethnic discrimination against Georgians in the country’s occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia), the resolution adopted on October 11 says. The document also stresses the ‘necessity of the implementation of the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement’ by the Russian Federation and underscores the right of internally displaced people (IDP) and refugees ‘to return to their homes.’