Latvian President: presence of Georgian Government at NATO Summit “very good message”
Levits also said Latvia had “always supported” Georgia's membership in the alliance, and was keeping the support for the country’s aspiration. Photo:Baltics News.
Tweet 
Share
The Georgian Government being represented at the NATO Summit in Madrid is a “very good message,” Latvian President Egils Levits told Georgian TV channel Imedi on Monday.
Levits noted the question of Georgia was being “actively discussed” at the alliance, with the new geopolitical situation - following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - also “influencing decisions.” He also noted Georgia's security as being “important” for NATO.
Levits also said his country had “always supported” Georgia's membership in the alliance, and was keeping the support for Georgia’s membership aspiration.
"Our position at this NATO Summit and subsequent meetings will be to support Georgia's future membership. Georgia will become a member of the alliance, but I can not say exactly when it will happen. NATO has promised Georgia [the membership] and it will happen," Levits said.
The Latvian President also reiterated support of his country for the Associated Trio states of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, noting Latvia supported granting them the candidate status of European Union membership “as soon as possible”.
The NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia Javier Colomina has expressed NATO’s support for Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, calling Georgia a “very valued partner."
The Georgian leadership will be invited to the NATO Summit that will be held in Madrid at the end of June, Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said in a doorstep statement earlier today, ahead of an informal meeting of NATO ministers of foreign affairs in Berlin.
Javier Colomina, the NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, on Friday said the upcoming Madrid Summit would be a “good opportunity” for the alliance to reaffirm its support for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic path.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili held a meeting with Latvian President Egils Levits on the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. At the meeting the two leaders pledged to deepen political ties between their countries. Importance of Latvia’s support to Georgia at the upcoming Eastern Partnership and NATO summits has been underscored.