US Ambassador: NATO Summit message on Georgia, Ukraine NATO membership “very clear”

Kelly Degnan, the United States Ambassador to Georgia, on Thursday said the message from this week’s NATO Vilnius Summit was “very clear” that the door was “wide open” for eventual membership of Georgia and Ukraine.

In her comments over Summit results, Degnan noted the allies’ wish to see Georgia become a member remained unchanged, and stressed the outcome was dependent on required reforms in the country.

They are essentially the same reforms that are required for EU membership. It is reforming the judiciary. It is improving Georgia’s democratic institutions so that Georgia has both the military capability and the political democratic stability and institutions to sit at the NATO table. That has not changed, and everyone, all allies, the United States, in particular, is supporting Georgia in trying to make those reforms”, Degnan told the local media.

“We just need to see political will on the part of the Georgian Government to do the reforms that are necessary. But the clear message from Vilnius is that the door is open for Georgia, and the allies want Georgia to be a member. That had not changed at all”, she continued.

Matthew Miller, the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, on Wednesday highlighted his Government continued to support Georgia's aspiration towards NATO membership.

On its part, the Georgian foreign office on Tuesday welcomed the support for the country, as expressed in the final document of the Summit “both in political and practical dimensions”.