Sec-Gen Jens Stoltenberg: NATO’s door remains open for Georgia, Ukraine
Jens Stoltenberg has stated that ‘whether a country becomes a member of NATO or not is to be decided by that country and the members of NATO, no one else’. Photo: nato.int
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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’.
For a country to become member they need to meet the NATO standards and therefore my message to both Ukraine and Georgia - two different countries with different geography and history but both aspiring for NATO membership - is that they have to focus on reform”, Jens Stoltenberg said.
He said this includes to:
- implement reforms
- modernise and strengthen democratic institutions
- fight corruption
A great pleasure to meet students @collegeofeurope. As a committed European, I believe in European integration, and in the cooperation between Europe and North America in #NATO. A strong transatlantic bond is the bedrock of Europe’s security. pic.twitter.com/Eoh7Bv0I0G
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) March 4, 2021
Noting that NATO is helping and supporting these reforms efforts, which are important regardless these countries will become members ‘in the near future or more distant future’, the Secretary General said ‘these reforms are actually helping Georgia and Ukraine’.
We have proven that NATO’s door is open because just since 2014 actually two more members have joined - Montenegro and North Macedonia. So NATO’s door remains open”, he reiterated.
In his speech Stoltenberg also noted that ‘whether a country becomes a member of NATO or not is to be decided by that country and the members of NATO, no one else’.
He said 'sometimes you get the impression that for instance Russia has some kind of veto, has the right to deny a country the right to join NATO', while in reality 'Russia cannot deny a sovereign nation the right to join'.
My message is that actually this is enshrined in many documents including documents that Russia signed that it is an absolute right for every sovereign nation to decide its own path including what kind of security arrangements it wants to be part of or not want to be part of", Jens Stoltenberg concluded.
[LIVE] ???? Watch Secretary General @jensstoltenberg's speech “#NATO: keeping Europe safe in an uncertain world” @collegeofeurope. https://t.co/MnAGKZzP3Q
— Oana Lungescu (@NATOpress) March 4, 2021
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 officials have welcomed North Macedonia becoming the 30th member of NATO. President Salome Zurabishvili said the enlargement “of this great family” strengthens international security.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at an online press conference following the NATO foreign ministerial today that ‘Georgia and Ukraine are valued NATO partners’. Noting that both countries ‘make important contributions’ to NATO missions, Stoltenberg said ‘today, we restated our support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia and Ukraine’.
NATO online foreign ministerial will kick off today with a focus on Black Sea security and ways to support NATO allies Georgia and Ukraine.
The Georgian Defence Ministry has received the last five of 20 vehicles from the NATO Support and Procurement Agency which will be used at the NATO-Georgian Joint Training and Evaluation Centre. Georgia received the first batch of vehicles in 2019.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed the recent EU-proposed agreement between the political forces in Georgia during a phone conversation with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili.
Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze said Georgia has all the practical tools that are necessary to become a member of NATO.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Ukrainian Defence Minister Andrii Taran have discussed the strategic cooperation between Georgia and Ukraine earlier today in Tbilisi.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze to NATO Headquarters ahead of the NATO-Georgia Commission meeting earlier today. During the meeting Stoltenberg and Burchuladze discussed the NATO Summit outcomes, where Heads of State and Government reaffirmed NATO’s enduring commitment to Open Door Policy.
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.
The NATO Secretary General’s new Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Javier Colomina, who is also NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, will be visiting Georgia next week.
The United States continues to support NATO’s decision of the 2008 Bucharest Summit Declaration that Georgia and Ukraine will become NATO members. A day before the NATO foreign ministerial in Riga the Department of State also underscored that ‘these countries’ Annual National Programs (ANP) detail their path to membership’.
Russia has called on NATO member states to rescind the 2008 Bucharest Summit declaration supporting Georgia and Ukraine's bid to become members of the alliance. The statement, issued by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanded the security guarantees from the United States and its allies.
Former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has said that Russia should agree to withdraw forces from Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine as part of the security deal proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has said that the deployment of NATO infrastructure in Georgia will pose a 'threat' to Russia and its allies.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the alliance will 'continue to provide support' to Georgia and Ukraine on their way towards Euro-Atlantic integration.