Georgia “already incredibly close partner” of NATO - US Ambassador to Alliance
The Ambassador expressed hope to continue working “closely” with Georgia on its “unique partnership” with the Alliance. Photo via US Mission to NATO
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Julianne Smith, the United States Ambassador to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, on Friday said Georgia was “already an incredibly close partner” of the Alliance, noting the 2008 Bucharest Summit declared that “not only” Ukraine, but also Georgia would become a member of NATO.
Smith highlighted Georgia’s participation in NATO peacekeeping missions in her Youtube video, answering the questions ahead of the Vilnius Summit.
She reaffirmed that NATO “obviously continues to condemn what Russia did in 2008” during the August war with Georgia, noting Russia “still occupies 20 percent of Georgian territory”. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends in Georgia as it relates to their territorial integrity and sovereignty”, Smith added.
The Ambassador expressed hope to continue working “closely” with Georgia on its “unique partnership” with the Alliance.
Julianne Smith, the United States Ambassador to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, hailed Georgia’s “excellent and very close” relationship with the alliance and highlighted the country as NATO’s one of the “closest partners”, in an interview with Imedi TV on Friday.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, on Tuesday described Georgia as “one of closest partners” of the alliance and pledged “continued political and practical support” for the country.
James Appathurai, the NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, on Wednesday said he did not have an “exact answer” when Georgia would become a NATO member country, but noted it was “clear” that “sooner or later” it would happen, highlighting the country as “one of the closest partners” for the alliance.
The United States Embassy in Georgia on Wednesday issued a statement on military cooperation between the two states in 2023 and stressed US-Georgia continued “to do more across a broad range of cooperative military activities”.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, on Friday said the importance of strengthening the partnership with Georgia would be addressed at the upcoming Summit in Vilnius, with Ukraine being “at the top of the agenda” as “there is a full-fledged war taking place” in the country.
The Georgian Government’s new state programme For Building the European State, published by the Parliament on Friday, says the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration and further success in this regard, remain a key foreign policy objective under the Constitution of Georgia.