Georgia’s Foreign Minister to feature at NATO Summit
The foreign office also said the delegation’s participation in the Summit emphasised the alliance's “strong support” for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration and the “high priority” for the “issue of Georgia in NATO's agenda”. Photo: MFA of Georgia
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A Georgian delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilia Darchiashvili will participate in the upcoming NATO Summit set to kick off on Tuesday in Lithuania’s capital city of Vilnius.
Darchiashvili will feature at the meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of foreign ministers, in which his counterparts from Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Moldova, as well as a high-ranking representative of the European Union, will also participate, the Georgian foreign office said.
A final declaration will be adopted at the Summit, in which the progress and prospects of Georgia's integration into NATO will be reflected. The Summit will also confirm the alliance's unconditional support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia”, the Ministry added.
The foreign office also said the delegation’s participation in the Summit emphasised the alliance's “strong support” for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration and the “high priority” for the “issue of Georgia in NATO's agenda”.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said the country’s accession to NATO was a “political objective” that was “bringing Georgians together”.
The “dynamic” development of relations between Georgia and NATO are highlighted in the annual report on the work of the country’s Government, set to be submitted to the Parliament today before it is presented to MPs by the Prime Minister later this month.
Alec Shelbrooke, the head of the British Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, on Sunday said Georgia's place was in the “Euro-Atlantic space” and noted the country must continue implementing its reforms to prepare for an eventual membership in the alliance.
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.
Archil Talakvadze, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday said Georgia was “strategically ready” for NATO membership and described the country as the alliance’s “reliable partner”, ahead of the bloc’s Summit on Tuesday.
Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations were discussed on Monday in a meeting between Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and Bärbel Bas, the President of the German Bundestag, who is on an official visit to the country.
Victor Dolidze, the head of the Georgian mission to NATO, on Monday said the country’s “ultimate goal” was full membership in the alliance, and noted “it probably matters less by which mechanism it will be ultimately determined - with or without the membership action plan”.
Cooperation between Georgia and Lithuania, the former's European integration and security matters in the Black Sea region were discussed on Tuesday in a meeting between the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and his Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis on the sidelines of the NATO Vilnius Summit.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday said the country “faithfully continues its Euro-Atlantic integration path” in her tweet while commenting on the ongoing NATO Summit.
The existing relations between Georgia and Germany and future prospects of cooperation, as well as Georgia’s European Union integration, were discussed on Tuesday in a meeting by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Bärbel Bas, the President of the German Bundestag, who is on an official visit to the country.