NATO Communique Reaffirms Georgia's Prospective Membership in the Alliance
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, July 13, 2023
During the NATO Vilnius summit, the alliance released its customary communique, which outlines NATO's current policies across various aspects. The communique for the 2023 summit also addresses the situation in Georgia.
The communique reiterates the Allies' unwavering support for Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders. It emphasizes Georgia's right to determine its own future and foreign policy without interference from external sources. Additionally, it calls upon Russia to withdraw its forces from Georgia without its consent. The communique urges Russia to reverse its recognition of the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions, cease their militarization, and halt attempts to physically separate them from the rest of Georgia through the construction of border-like barriers. Furthermore, it demands an end to human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions and harassment of Georgian citizens.
The communique highly appreciates Georgia's significant contributions to NATO operations, which exemplify its dedication and ability to enhance Euro-Atlantic security. The alliance remains committed to utilizing the NATO-Georgia Commission and the Annual National Programme (ANP) to deepen political dialogue and practical cooperation with Georgia. It reaffirms the decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Georgia will become a member of the Alliance through the Membership Action Plan (MAP), which is an integral part of the membership process. All elements of this decision and subsequent decisions are reaffirmed. The communique welcomes the progress made in implementing the enhanced Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, encompassing Crisis Management, Cyber Security, Military Engineering, Secure Communications, and new initiatives in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Defense and Training Facilities. To advance its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, Georgia is encouraged to make reforms, particularly democratic reforms, and optimize the utilization of the ANP.
"We reiterate our support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders. We stand firm in our support for Georgia's right to decide its own future and foreign policy course free from outside interference. We call on Russia to withdraw the forces it has stationed in Georgia without its consent. We further call on Russia to reverse its recognition of the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia; to end the militarisation of these regions and continued attempts to forcibly separate them from the rest of Georgia through the construction of border-like obstacles; and to cease the human rights violations and abuses, including arbitrary detentions, and harassments of Georgian citizens. We highly appreciate Georgia's substantial contributions to NATO operations, which demonstrate its commitment and capability to contribute to Euro-Atlantic security. We remain committed to making full use of the NATO-Georgia Commission and the Annual National Programme (ANP) in deepening political dialogue and practical cooperation with Georgia. We reiterate the decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Georgia will become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process; we reaffirm all elements of that decision, as well as subsequent decisions. We welcome the progress made in implementing the enhanced Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, including Crisis Management, Cyber Security, Military Engineering, and Secure Communications, as well as new initiatives in the areas of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defence and Training Facilities. To advance its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, Georgia must make progress on reforms, including key democratic reforms, and make best use of the ANP," NATO'S communique reads.
