Georgia’s reforms a focus for NATO membership - Stoltenberg

Georgia’s main focus remains on reforms to move the country towards NATO membership, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

Stoltenberg made the remark as part of comments at a  meeting with members of the European Parliament, where he answered a question by Lithuanian politician Petras Auštrevičius on the bloc’s “open door policy” for new memberships.

The Secretary General said between the aspirant trio of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia and Ukraine the latter was the subject of the “main focus” of the alliance.

He explained the approach meant supporting Ukraine’s objective of existing as an “independent, sovereign state” in the wake of the Russian invasion, not NATO membership for the state.

Stoltenberg also stressed “any decision” regarding new memberships in the bloc required unanimous consent of all member states, and noted there had not been agreement among them on granting the Membership Action Plan to new aspiring countries.