US Ambassador: Georgia’s status as “very strong partner” of NATO shown by Summit participation
Degnan stressed the Summit was a display of NATO's “unity” in the face of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Photo: US Embassy Tbilisi
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Kelly Degnan, the United States Ambassador to Georgia, on Thursday said Georgia was a “very strong partner” of NATO, as demonstrated by the participation of the Georgian Government’s high-level delegation in the ongoing Madrid Summit of the alliance.
Degnan stressed the Summit was a display of NATO's “unity” in the face of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
It was a reaffirmation of the purpose of the NATO Alliance, which is a defensive Alliance that stands to promote peace and stability in Europe and beyond. I think that the summit was also an opportunity for Georgia to regalvanize around the steps that Georgia needs to make. Many of them are the very same kinds of reforms that are being called for in Georgia’s European Union candidate status”, the Ambassador said.
In her comments, Degnan also noted the work done to promote the European Union membership candidate status for Georgia would also benefit the country’s NATO membership process, as “these are the same kinds of political and democratic reforms”.
It’s important to remember: NATO is a political-military Alliance. That means it has military standards that must be met as well as political standards that must be met. And the United States and its allies stand ready to assist Georgia to make progress toward that membership”, she concluded in her comments.
The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said the ongoing NATO Summit had sent “another signal” in support for the bloc’s open door policy, and called the adoption of a “tailored” assistance programme for Georgia a “really important” step.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry on Thursday welcomed the approval of a set of “tailored support” measures for the country by the NATO Summit, with the support involving “concrete steps” to further enhance the country's defence capabilities and achieve NATO’s more effective engagement in this process.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said his Government stood ready to work closely with the transatlantic community to “safeguard peace, stability and promote shared values”.
New measures to step up “tailored political and practical support” to partners including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova will be ensured by NATO following a declaration on the matter at the ongoing Summit of the alliance on Wednesday.
A “beginning of new opportunities” in cooperation between Georgia and the United States was the focus of an address by Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili, delivered at an event marking the US Independence Day on Thursday.
Kelly Degnan, the United States Ambassador to Georgia, on Thursday said Georgia had made “great progress” building its democracy over the past 30 years and pointed out that there was “no limit” to what the country could achieve with unity over its Euro-Atlantic future.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday congratulated the United States on its Independence Day by saying the date was a “symbol of freedom, democracy and commitment to common values” not only for US citizens but “for the entire democratic world”.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday congratulated the United States on its Independence Day with messages celebrating the “common values” of the two countries.