Latvian FM vows support for Georgia's NATO membership
Rinkevics said it was “important” to reflect NATO’s open door policy in the new concept of the alliance, pointing out the accession of Finland and Sweden would be “crucial” for Georgia. Photo: Reuters
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Edgars Rinkevics, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, on Sunday said his country supported granting Georgia a Membership Action Plan for joining NATO.
Rinkevics said it was “important” to reflect NATO’s open door policy in the new concept of the alliance, pointing out the accession of Finland and Sweden would be “crucial” for Georgia.
“Admitting new members to the European Union and NATO requires consensus. Today there’s no agreement between the 30 member states of NATO on Georgia’s and Ukraine’s membership”, the official admitted.
“We continue to support Georgia, and we say that it is very important to focus on open door policy in the new NATO concept. It is important to continue working in this direction”, the top Latvian diplomat said in an interview with Georgian channel Imedi TV.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Secretary General of the alliance, on Wednesday said the West had made its “first mistake” back in 2008, at its Bucharest Summit, in not outlining a “clear path” to NATO for Georgia and Ukraine.
Rasmussen acknowledged NATO members could not agree on granting Georgia and Ukraine the MAP at the Summit, with the split sending a “wrong message” to Russia, which invaded Georgia a few months later, in August of the same year.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Saturday said he remained “optimistic” that a “sensible decision” would be made by the European Commission on the country’s European Union membership bid, which he said would be in the “best interest of both sides”.
The answer to Russia's aggression is European Union and European integration, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said during her visit to Brussels on Thursday where she met the President of the European Council Charles Michel.
The West made its first “mistake” back in 2008 in not outlining a “clear path” to NATO for Georgia and Ukraine, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Secretary-General of the Alliance, has said in an interview with the Foreign Policy magazine.
Nothing will change Georgia’s determination to pursue its path toward the European Union and NATO membership, President Salome Zourabichvili said on Thursday in an interview with the French magazine Marie Claire.
Gunther Krichbaum, an MP from the Christian Democratic Union in the Bundestag, on Monday said it was “in Germany’s interest” to “open a path” to the European Union for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday stressed that the Georgian authorities saw the guarantee of the country’s security under the NATO “umbrella”.
The importance of deepening cooperation between Georgia and Norway in various areas was discussed on Monday in a meeting between the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili and the King of Norway Harald V.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday called the invitation for Georgian officials to meet with alliance leaders at its upcoming Madrid Summit an “important expression” of “solidarity” and “close partnership”.
Viktor Dolidze, the Head of the Georgian mission to NATO, on Wednesday said the country had been invited to take part in today’s meeting of the alliance’s Rammstein format for the first time, with the main topic of discussion being the issue of strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities.
The security environment in the Black Sea region and the ongoing war in Ukraine were discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between the Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze and his Bulgarian and Turkish counterparts.