State Department Spokesperson: US supports Georgia’s NATO aspirations

The United States supports Georgia’s NATO aspirations and the country is already an important partner of the alliance, Ned Price, the Spokesperson for the Department of State, said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

In comments on the matter, Price stressed NATO’s open door policy should be an “open door” for countries that “aspire to join the alliance”.

We have said for some 15 years now that we support Georgia’s NATO aspirations. We believe that NATO’s “open door” policy, it should be an open door for those countries that aspire to join the alliance. We’ve also said that no outside entity can or should have a veto on any eligible country’s aspirations to join the NATO membership,” Price told the press. 

His comments also stressed NATO membership process was “overseen” by the alliance, with a set of requirements that any aspirant country would need to fulfill before being eligible to be considered for full membership. 

But Georgia already is an important NATO partner. We have had close consultations with Georgia on the margins of NATO meetings,” he noted.

The Department of State Spokesperson also emphasised the US had “consistently” stood by Georgia and its citizens “in their desire to be a free and sovereign people and a free and sovereign country”, pointing out the two countries had developed a “strategic partnership.” 

We work together towards our shared vision of a Georgia that is fully integrated into the Euro-Atlantic family of nations and part of a Europe that is whole, free, and, we would hope, at peace. And this is a vision that takes hard work; it takes patience. It takes significant resources to realise. That’s why we have sought to do our part,” he concluded.