Parliament Speaker says Georgia deserves NATO membership

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, who is on a visit to Brussels, on Tuesday said the country had shown it was “ready” and “deserved” NATO membership.

In his remarks over the country’s aspirations to join the alliance, Papuashvili noted “the Georgian people, who made sacrifices for international security, should hear clear answers from NATO”. 

The chief Georgian legislator also stressed the Georgian Government had done “a lot” to bring its institutions and systems in line with NATO standards. 

We have shown that we don't want to be just a consumer of the security system, but we want to be a contributor. That is why we participated and are participating in NATO international missions”, Papuashvili said. 

“Georgia has done everything, demonstrating by all parameters that it is ready and deserves NATO membership. Now the decision is up to the NATO members”, he continued. 

The lawmaker called for “at least a clear time schedule” and criteria being clarified for the country to join the bloc.

As part of the visit, Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, said the country’s partners were interested in “what more NATO could do” for Georgia before the country became a full member of the alliance.