Parliament official: Georgia has “never been so close” to NATO

Irakli Beraia, the chair of the Georgian parliament’s defence and security committee, on Monday said the country had “never been so close” to NATO as today, in both political and practical terms.

Beraia noted the country’s officials “constantly” participated in alliance summits and ministerials and saw “very important” outcomes.

• NATO sec gen: Georgia “highly valued” partner

The parliament official also stressed integration into the bloc was a “values-based choice of Georgian citizens”, as well as the “main priority” of the country’s security and foreign policy.

“In the process of Euro-Atlantic integration, NATO-Georgia cooperation in defence plays an important role by ensuring the combat readiness of our defence forces [and] increasing the[ir] combat capability [...], strengthening the country's defence capability and increasing compatibility with NATO”, Beraia said.

Today, NATO’s cooperation with Georgia is at an unprecedented high level. Georgia has never been so close to NATO as it is today, both politically and practically. One of the proofs of this is that Georgia constantly participates in the summits and ministerial meetings of the alliance, having very important outcomes for our country”, he continued. 

Beraia also added that on the backdrop of the deterioration of the regional security environment as an outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war, measures of support for Georgia from the alliance had increased, which “is felt both from a political and practical point of view”.