Meeting between NATO Secretary General and Prime Minister of Georgia

Georgia and NATO

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. At a briefing after the meeting, Stoltenberg said that Georgia is a close partner of NATO and the alliance supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia.

The Secretary General said that one of the topics discussed at the meeting was Russian aggression in Ukraine. According to him, this is a “poisonous act” that must be stopped once and for all, which “Georgia and the Georgian people are well aware of.”

“We perpetually call on Russia to recognize the territorial integrity of Georgia. At today’s meeting we talked about the Georgia-NATO partnership and how we can deepen it,” Stoltenberg said.

He also said that NATO declares its political and practical support for Georgia and, above all, for internal reforms in Georgia:

“So we called on the government to withdraw the “foreign agents law”, which was not in line with democratic principles. The Georgian people have repeatedly stated their desire to have a democratic country that will be integrated into the Euro-Atlantic region. NATO continues to work with you to realize these aspirations.”

According to Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the country aims to deepen practical cooperation with NATO:

“We are actively working on the so-called 12 recommendations, which will be done fairly quickly, and we believe that Georgia deserves the status of candidate [to the European Union]. I would also like to note that in 2015 I had the honor to lead the NATO-Georgia twinning project and the center opened for that, which has been going very productively since 2015, so we are aimed at deepening practical cooperation with NATO in all areas.” .

According to Garibashvili, Georgia has a good track record of participating in NATO missions, and Georgia contributes to Euro-Atlantic peace and security, “which is well known to all”:

“Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations remain the top priority of our foreign policy. I also want to note that we have made significant progress. Over the past ten years we have signed an association agreement with the European Union, a free trade agreement, and enjoyed a visa-free policy with the European Union. Last year we adopted a European perspective, which was a historic decision.”

Before the meeting with Stoltenberg, Garibashvili met with President of the European Council, Charles Michel, after which he tweeted:

“I had a fruitful meeting with the President of the European Council. Relations between us are getting stronger. Georgia is ready to complete the implementation of the 12 recommendations and deserves Candidate status. Together with Georgia and the European Union, we will promote peace, democracy and economic growth in the region.”

Productive meeting w/ @eucopresident. We continue strengthening our relations. 🇬🇪 is committed to finalizing 12 recommendations and deserves candidate status this year. Together 🇬🇪🇪🇺 will promote peace, democracy & economic growth in the region. pic.twitter.com/RorLO67WG9
— Irakli Garibashvili (@GharibashviliGe) April 25, 2023