NATO Military Committee head: ‘our fourth visit to Georgia points at unique partnership’
Head of NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer (L) arrived in Georgia yesterday. Photo: Rob Bauer’s Twitter page.
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Head of NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer has stated that the committee's fourth visit to Georgia ‘points at a unique partnership between NATO and Georgia which is becoming stronger year by year.’
Bauer arrived in Georgia late yesterday and has already met with Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze.
Burchuladze stated that NATO-Georgia relations are ‘unprecedented’ and that the alliance’s ‘continued political and practical support’ for Georgia confirms this.
In a show of continued support, the #NATOMC is in #Georgia where we will hold a special MC/PS & visit JTEC + I will meet ???????? President Zourabichvili, Prime Minister Garibashvili, Defence Minister Burchuladze & Chief of Defence, MGen Matiashvili. pic.twitter.com/eNOEBfrw4L
— Admiral Rob Bauer (@CMC_NATO) October 7, 2021
Bauer and Burchuladze have discussed progress achieved in the implementation of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package (SNGP) and Black Sea security.
Bauer has praised Georgia’s contribution to international peace and security.
The military committee is the senior military authority in NATO and the oldest permanent body in the alliance after the North Atlantic Council.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the College of Europe in Bruges earlier today that ‘NATO’s door remains open’ for Georgia and Ukraine. Stoltenberg said that he was at the NATO summit in Bucharest back in 2008 when the alliance made a decision that Georgia and Ukraine will become its members but they ‘did not set any fixed date’.
US President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for the post of State Secretary Antony Blinken has stated that if Georgia meets the criteria for NATO membership then the alliance should keep its door open for the country, Voice of America has cited Blinken as saying during the recent meeting of the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze said Georgia has all the practical tools that are necessary to become a member of NATO.
Special forces units from Georgian Defence Forces are involved in drills alongside counterparts from NATO member and partner states in the alliance's annual Trojan Footprint exercise involving air, sea and land assets in five host countries.