FM Zalkaliani thanks US State Sec Blinken for ‘firm support’ at NATO Meeting
The NATO Ministerial was held on November 30 and December 1 in Riga where Zalkaliani participated and delivered a speech with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, ahead of the Alliance’s 2022 summit, where a new strategic concept for NATO is to be approved. Photo: mfa.gov.ge.
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Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has thanked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for the US’s ‘firm support’ to Georgia at the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Riga on December 1.
Zalkaliani thanked Blinken for highlighting Georgia’s contribution to global security, including in the evacuation of more than 2,500 people from Afghanistan in August of this year.
Thank you @SecBlinken for reiterating US's firm support to???????? at #NATO Ministerial, for emphasizing #Georgia's issue at high-level agenda& highlighting our contribution to global security, inc. in Afghanistan. Grateful for????????’s efforts to enhance security of its strategic partner????????
— David Zalkaliani (@DZalkaliani) December 2, 2021
US State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted yesterday saying that Blinken reiterated to US partners including Georgia that ‘we are stronger together.’
.@SecBlinken met with our partners Ukraine, Georgia, Finland, Sweden, and the EU on the second day of the @NATO #ForMin. He reiterated to our Allies we are #strongertogether. pic.twitter.com/2TKeAq6a7s
— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) December 1, 2021
Secretary Blinken sent a letter of thanks to Zalkaliani on November 22 saying that Georgia became one of the main military contributors to the Resolute Support mission (RSM) and the International Security Assistance Force missions (ISAF) in Afghanistan from 2015-2021, emphasising that the US ‘highly values the strategic partnership with Georgia’ and its leadership in the context of addressing global and regional challenges.
Following the meeting in Riga, Zalkaliani has started his working visit in Stockholm, Sweden, where he will attend the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council on December 2-3 and participate in ‘high-level discussions on the security situation across the region and globally.’
Glad to have started working visit to t/@OSCE Ministerial Council in Stockholm. Expecting high-level discussions on security situation across t/region & globally. Occup of???????? terrs, deterioration of security& humanitarian situation on t/ground will be high on my agenda #OSCEMC2021 pic.twitter.com/CHVEv5XpCV
— David Zalkaliani (@DZalkaliani) December 2, 2021
During his speech at the ministerial meeting, Zalkaliani will focus on the occupation of Georgian territories and the situation on the ground, as well as the country's active involvement in the peace and security process in the South Caucasus region, the Georgian Foreign Ministry reports.
Within the framework of the Ministerial, a statement of the Group of Friends of Georgia in the OSCE regarding the occupied regions of the country will be adopted,” the ministry says.
The NATO Ministerial was held on November 30 and December 1 in Riga where Zalkaliani participated and delivered a speech with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, ahead of the Alliance’s 2022 summit, where a new strategic concept for NATO is to be approved.