The News in Brief
Tuesday, November 24
By The Messenger Staff
Ben Hodges: We must invite Georgia to join NATO
Former US Army Commander in Europe Lieutenant General Ben Hodges told EUObserver that he believes, in the light of the events in Nagorno-Karabakh, it is necessary to invite Georgia to join NATO.
Former Lieutenant said the West had failed to fully and consistently compete in all areas of the Greater Black Sea region, including the South Caucasus, leading to a resumption of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“We have given in to the Kremlin's initiative, so today we stand aside and observe the results. Let us build a new, much stronger relationship with Armenia and Azerbaijan. Strengthen our early ties with Turkey and strengthen our presence in Georgia, including with infrastructure for the Air Force and the US Navy. "We also need to send an invitation to Georgia to join NATO immediately,” Hodges said.
He said the steps would make the Kremlin aware that the region is of strategic importance to the West.
“The West has to compete in the South Caucasus before if we want to avoid a conflict between the largest states,” Hodges noted.
Head of Government Administration resigns
The head of the government administration Natia Mezvrishvili left the public service today. Mezvrishvili hasn’t specified the reason for the decision. She posted about her resignation on her official Facebook account:
“After 13 years of extremely interesting and challenging activities, I left the public service today. I would like to thank every public official with whom I have spent many years. Thanks to everyone - in government, parliament, politics or beyond politics, international partners, NGOs, journalists, and everyone with whom I have worked during this period. Special thanks to Gakharia for trusting me, a stranger to him back then, and for allowing me to do many good things. I hope that wherever I am, I will be able to contribute to the progress and success of the country.”
Ben Hodges: We must invite Georgia to join NATO
Former US Army Commander in Europe Lieutenant General Ben Hodges told EUObserver that he believes, in the light of the events in Nagorno-Karabakh, it is necessary to invite Georgia to join NATO.
Former Lieutenant said the West had failed to fully and consistently compete in all areas of the Greater Black Sea region, including the South Caucasus, leading to a resumption of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“We have given in to the Kremlin's initiative, so today we stand aside and observe the results. Let us build a new, much stronger relationship with Armenia and Azerbaijan. Strengthen our early ties with Turkey and strengthen our presence in Georgia, including with infrastructure for the Air Force and the US Navy. "We also need to send an invitation to Georgia to join NATO immediately,” Hodges said.
He said the steps would make the Kremlin aware that the region is of strategic importance to the West.
“The West has to compete in the South Caucasus before if we want to avoid a conflict between the largest states,” Hodges noted.
Head of Government Administration resigns
The head of the government administration Natia Mezvrishvili left the public service today. Mezvrishvili hasn’t specified the reason for the decision. She posted about her resignation on her official Facebook account:
“After 13 years of extremely interesting and challenging activities, I left the public service today. I would like to thank every public official with whom I have spent many years. Thanks to everyone - in government, parliament, politics or beyond politics, international partners, NGOs, journalists, and everyone with whom I have worked during this period. Special thanks to Gakharia for trusting me, a stranger to him back then, and for allowing me to do many good things. I hope that wherever I am, I will be able to contribute to the progress and success of the country.”