Georgian PM highlights “determination” to become NATO member

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said the country’s membership in NATO was the “determination” of the Georgian Government and pointed out the country’s “very close” cooperation with the alliance.

Speaking at the ongoing Qatar Economic Forum, Garibashvili stressed that over 80 percent of Georgian citizens supported Euro-Atlantic integration, and the ruling Georgian Dream party had done “everything possible” in this regard.

We [have] put into the Constitution that Georgia’s foreign policy path [is] Euro-Atlantic. In 2015 we opened a joint training centre with NATO. This is a clear demonstration of our very close cooperation with NATO [and] [t]his is our motivation to become a member of NATO as well”, the Georgian PM said.

He noted integration into the alliance did not only depend on Georgia’s “wish”, pointing out the outcome required a “consensus” among NATO member states. 

We are not naive. We understand Georgia has territorial problems. We must solve it first, and then become a member of NATO”, he concluded in his comments.