NATO-Georgia Commission Meeting in Tbilisi

Georgia will continue its “consistent” reform efforts and “wait patiently” for the window of opportunity for joining NATO, PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili said after meeting alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and ambassadors from NATO-member states, who are visiting Tbilisi on September 7-8.

Speaking at a joint news conference with the Georgian PM after the NATO-Georgia Commission meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the Alliance has “a remarkable, mutually supportive relationship” with Georgia and “our partnership is getting even stronger.”

“We decided at the NATO Warsaw summit to reaffirm the decision we made in Bucharest [in 2008] that Georgia will become a member of NATO. But to become a member of NATO, Georgia has to meet the standards, requirements for membership and that’s exactly why we are working together with Georgia on implementing reforms,” Stoltenberg said, when asked about timeframe of Georgia’s NATO membership.

“I will not give you any exact timetables because it is based on merits, based on results and on the progress Georgia is making. We have seen a lot of progress and reforms when it comes to institutional reforms, electoral reforms, freedom of press and of course defense and security reforms,” he said.

Asked what role Russia plays when it comes to NATO’s decision-making over Georgia’s integration to the Alliance, Stoltenberg said that it is only up to NATO members and Georgia to decide and “no one else has the right to interfere or try to veto that process.”

He said that this approach has been underlined by NATO for multiple times as despite of protests from Russia, NATO has continued to enlarge.

Responding the same question, Georgia’s PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili said that Georgia should focus on reforms and “wait patiently” for “window of opportunity.”

“I think speaking about Russia’s influence upon Georgia’s potential accession to NATO would not be correct. I think what we need to do is our own homework… and I think we need to wait patiently and move consistently towards NATO accession, and what we are doing right now – reforming Georgian military, democratic institutions, is exactly what we need for NATO membership,” the Georgian PM said, adding that Montenegro’s case shows that NATO’s door remains open.

“We believe that there will be a window of opportunity for Georgia, but we need to be patient and we need to be consistent,” he said.

“Majority of Georgian population supports NATO membership,” the Georgian PM said. “I want to express my satisfaction over acknowledgment by the North Atlantic Council members of Georgia’s progress. I want to reassure our partners that dynamic of this progress will be maintained and Georgia will achieve its eventual goal of joining NATO.”

Secretary General Stoltenberg reiterated NATO Warsaw summit declaration, saying that Georgia has all the necessary tools to move towards NATO membership, including the NATO-Georgia Commission; the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package; Joint Training and Evaluation Centre, which was inaugurated last year, and presence of NATO experts in Tbilisi to help bolster Georgia’s defence reforms.

He said that Georgia made “impressive progress” and added: “I trust that this progress will continue.”

“In line with Georgia’s steady progress, we look forward to the upcoming elections meeting the highest democratic standards and free and fair elections,” the NATO Secretary General said.

“This is important for NATO, because NATO is a community of values, including democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” he said.

It is the fourth visit to Georgia by the North Atlantic Council, which is NATO’s political decision-making body, made up of ambassadors from NATO member-states.

On September 8 the delegation will meet President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze and speaker of Georgia’s outgoing parliament Davit Usupashvili and other members of the Parliament. NATO ambassadors will also meet civil society representatives.