Saakashvili Meets Turkish Defense Minister, Speaks of NATO Integration
President Saakashvili met in Batumi with Turkish Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, who visited Georgia on July 18.
“Georgia’s relations with Turkey are developing very dynamically in all the sectors, including in the defense one,” Saakashvili said. “You know that 2014 has been declared as the year of NATO expansion and Georgia already has a real chance for full membership in NATO, which represents an important long-term security guarantee for us.”
“Turkey is one of major supporters in our drive to join the NATO and for that we are very grateful [to Turkey], because it represents a historic chance for Georgia, for the region and for our good neighborly relations to make Georgia protected within this international organization [NATO].”
“Recently it [Georgia’s NATO membership] became more realistic than it has ever been in history,” Saakashvili said.
“We are also very grateful to Turkey because in the most difficult years, including after 2008 [war with Russia] cooperation was not suspended with Turkey in any of the spheres, including and especially in the defense sector; at that time our cooperation in defense sphere with many other countries was at a very low point, now it is back [to normal], but Turkey was a rare exception with whom this cooperation was not suspended for a single day, on the contrary this cooperation was further intensified and it was show of real support, real friendship by Turkey,” Saakashvili said.
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