Tinatin Khidasheli met with her French counterpart
Friday, June 19
Within the frames of her visit to France, the Minister of Defence of Georgia met with her French counterpart. Jean-Yves Le Drian hosted Tinatin Khidasheli in the Ministry of Defence.
Minister Tinatin Khidasheli thanked the French side for its support for Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as towards its NATO membership aspirations. Ongoing bilateral cooperation in the field of defence was discussed during the meeting. The sides referred to Georgia`s NATO integration prospects and the significance of granting MAP to Georgia at the upcoming Warsaw Summit. The sides also highlighted a regional security environment.
Tinatin Khidasheli focused on the French observer`s involvement in the European Union Monitoring Mission and the current military-technical cooperation between Georgia and France.
“I have promised the Georgian people that I would visit the NATO member states. France is one of the great partners of Georgia, and so this is why my first visit was planned in France. I think we have had a very good meeting with Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Mainly, we have reviewed Georgia`s perspectives of getting MAP at the upcoming NATO Summit in Warsaw. We have also talked of the significance of the EUMM and extending its mandate in the region. The support provided by France to Georgia in terms of NATO membership aspirations and the EUMM is extremely important and decisive for the country. We have invited the French Minister of Defence to Georgia. I hope that we will be able to host him in Tbilisi and show him the boundaries of Georgia’s occupied territories. Jean-Yves Le Drian expressed interest in the barbed wire borders, the kidnappings and creeping occupation taking place in the breakaway regions. I think that he will arrive in Georgia and become familiar with the situation on the ground”, stated Georgian Defence Minister after the meeting.
