U.S. Official Comments on Georgia’s NATO Aspiration

NATO decisions are something that are not determined by the United States but by all of the members of NATO, Tom Casey, the deputy spokesman of the U.S. Department of State said on March 17.

“Certainly, those decisions will be made based on whether countries have met the qualifications and criteria either for membership, in some cases, or to engage in a closer relationship through a membership action plan and others,” Casey said at a news briefing in Washington.

President Saakashvili, who is currently visiting the United States, is due to hold talks with President Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
 
“The subjects that we generally cover when we have an opportunity to speak with him [Saakashvili] or other senior Georgian Government officials, of course, include our restatement of our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia,” the U.S. official said. “We usually talk about a variety of bilateral issues, including some of our efforts to help support political and economic development in the country. We also generally will talk about issues related to some of the other countries in the region, and certainly, Georgia-Russian relations is usually part of that conversation as well.”

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