Stoltenberg Says He Will Visit Georgia in March
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, January 25
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has stated that he will visit Georgia in March of the year, at the time when Georgia will host large-scale military drills with the participation of 17 NATO member states.
Stoltenberg made the statement late on Wednesday during the press conference with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili in Brussels, Belgium.
Stoltenberg reiterated that NATO door remains open to Georgia and that his upcoming visit is a proof that the NATO-Georgia relations are advancing.
He said that no other country has a right to oppose the decision of an independent state to become a member of the alliance, openly referring to Russia.
Stoltenberg thanked Georgia for its contribution to the NATO peace mission in Afghanistan.
Zurabishvili who held her first official visit in Brussels stated that in her new role she will permanently tell the country’s partners and the NATO members that “Georgia wants and is ready for integration into NATO and that the country has carried out all the required reforms”.
“Two percent of Georgian GDP is being spent on defense and 20 percent of the Defence Ministry budget-for armament. Sometimes we do more for the alliance than some of its members,” Zurabishvili said.
She said that Georgia also receives a counter-support from NATO and thanked the alliance and Stoltenberg for their roles in the strengthening of Georgia’s self-defense capabilities.
Zurabishvili reiterated that her first official visit in Brussels was “symbolic”, revealing the will of the Georgian people who support the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration.
