Parliament Speaker highlights role of NATO “umbrella” in Georgia’s security

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”.

Papuashvili, who is on an official visit to Norway, made the comment while speaking of expectations of the Government from the upcoming NATO Summit.

We see the guarantee of our security under the umbrella of NATO. In June [at NATO’s Summit in Madrid] it will be time to once again send the signal of support for Georgia, and provide not only the open door, but also the path of how Georgia can become a member of NATO”, the head of the Georgian legislative body said.

Edgars Rinkevics, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, on Sunday said his country supported granting Georgia a Membership Action Plan for joining the alliance.

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.

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.