Four points out of 14-point declaration adopted by NATO are about Georgia

Two-day NATO ministerial is over. After a 6-year pause the decision was made to expand and Montenegro was invited to join the alliance. The communique was published regarding three aspirant countries.

Four points out of 14-point declaration adopted by NATO are about Georgia. NATO Secretary General"s special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia,James Appathurai spoke about communique with the Georgian journalists and said that Georgia should go through the same procedure as Montenegro. The first regards making full use of all the existing instruments, involving the NATO-Georgia Commission, the Annual National Programme, Georgia’s role as an Enhanced Opportunities Partner, its participation in NATO’s Defence Capacity Building Initiative and the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package.

The second message is about “the important progress” made in implementing the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, which was offered to Georgia at the last year’s Wales summit, including the start of joint exercises and the inauguration of the Joint Training and Evaluation Centre outside Tbilisi.

“As we prepare for the Warsaw summit [on July 8-9, 2016], we will explore new, practical ways to intensify efforts including through high-level political dialogue and increased co-operation, including in defence and strategic communications,” NATO foreign ministers said.

It also says: “NATO recognizes Georgia’s efforts to strengthen its democracy, including to reform the judiciary and security services, and to modernise its military forces and defence institutions.”
James Appathurai said that NATO is not only a military organization, but a political one as well. Therefore, it is necessary to continue the implementation of the government"s reforms.