Rustavi 2
September 5, 2014
President of Georgia meets NATO Sec. General in Wales
Wales is hosting the largest gathering of international leaders ever to take place in Britain at the NATO summit. One of the topical issues on the agenda is the crisis in Ukraine.
In its turn, the government of Georgia is preparing to be granted a new Substantive Package, in which, as authorities hope, Georgias achievements will be adequately responded.
The delegation of Georgia in Wales is headed by President Giorgi Margvelashvili, who held his first meeting with the Secretary General, who began his greeting by congratulating the President on his birthday and wishing him success in future endeavors.
President Margvelashvili thanked the Secretary General for his steadfast support for Georgia on its path to the North Atlantic integration and said that the Alliance was adequately assessing the progress of Georgia.
The sides expressed their hope that the summit would be a new push for Georgia`s NATO membership.
Giorgi Margvelashvili and Anders Fogh Rasmussen have focused on the Substantive Package, a document, which Georgia is expected to be granted in Wales. According to the Secretary General, it will be a new impetus for preparing Georgia`s integration into NATO and for more effective conduct of the process.
Giorgi Margvelashvili expressed his hope that the result of this summit would further increase Georgia`s security and defensibility.
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Civil Georgia
September 5, 2014
Georgia in NATO Wales Summit Declaration
Tbilisi: Left without long-sought membership action plan (MAP), Georgia was instead offered at a two-day summit of NATO leaders in Wales, which was concluded on September 5, with “substantial package” which, the Alliance said, will help Tbilisi advance its preparations towards NATO membership.
Repeating wording of previous summit declarations, the new one again reiterates 2008 NATO Bucharest summit decision that Georgia will become a member of the Alliance and also reaffirms “all elements” of that decision in 2008, as well as subsequent decisions.
Among “elements” of the 2008 Bucharest decision was that MAP should be the next step for Georgia on its “direct way to membership”; references to the need of going through MAP phase before joining the alliance are also made in NATO’s subsequent decisions in respect of Georgia and the same reference was again made at this recent summit by declaring that NATO reaffirms all elements of the 2008 summit decisions over Georgia.
Georgia-related extracts from the Wales summit declaration
The Wales summit declaration of NATO leaders says that since Bucharest summit in 2008, “Georgia has made significant progress and has come closer to NATO by implementing ambitious reforms and making good use of the NATO-Georgia Commission and Annual National Programme.”
“We note that Georgia’s relationship with the Alliance contains the tools necessary to continue moving Georgia forward towards eventual membership,” it reads.
“Today we have endorsed a substantial package for Georgia that includes defence capacity building, training, exercises, strengthened liaison, and enhanced interoperability opportunities. These measures aim to strengthen Georgia’s defence and interoperability capabilities with the Alliance, which will help Georgia advance in its preparations towards membership in the Alliance,” reads the declaration.
According to Georgian and NATO officials, the package for Georgia also include launching of NATO training center in Georgia, as well as “occasionally” holding of NATO exercises in Georgia. According to Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania after the package would then be followed by its “implementation plan”.
At the summit in Wales, NATO leaders have also decided to launch, what they called a Defence and Related Security Capacity Building Initiative aimed at reinforcing NATO’s “commitment to partner nations” and to help the Alliance “to project stability without deploying large combat forces.”
The initiative, which will be extended to Georgia, Jordan and Moldova, involves providing expertise, advice and assistance in defence and security capacity building.
In the Wales summit declaration NATO leaders also said that they recognize “Georgia’s significant efforts to strengthen its democracy and to modernise its military forces and defence institutions.”
“We welcome the democratic development of Georgia, including through the peaceful transfer of power following parliamentary and presidential elections in 2012 and 2013, respectively. We encourage Georgia to continue implementation of reforms, including consolidating democratic institutions, taking forward judicial reforms, and ensuring full respect for the rule of law,” reads the declaration.
It also reiterates Alliances appreciation for Georgia’s “sizeable contribution” to the Afghan operation and says that together with Georgia’s offer to participate in the NATO Response Force from 2015, “these contributions demonstrate Georgia’s role as a contributor to our shared security.”
The declaration reiterates NATO’s “continued support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia”, welcomes Georgia’s “full compliance” with the EU-mediated 2008 cease-fire agreement, as well as its commitment not to use force and calls on Russia to reciprocate.
“We continue to call on Russia to reverse its recognition of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia as independent states and to withdraw its forces from Georgia,” reads the declaration.
At a news conference on September 5 outgoing NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Georgia is also among the group of five nations, who seek “enhanced opportunities” of cooperation with NATO. Four others are Australia, Finland, Jordan and Sweden.
“Georgia’s participation in that group represents an acknowledgment of progress Georgia has made in its relationship with NATO. Georgia wants to further improve its ability to work and operate with NATO forces,” Rasmussen said.
On the sideline of the summit, NATO foreign ministers met their counterparts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, and Macedonia – countries, which aspire to join the Alliance.
“Ministers discussed the progress made by these countries, the Euro-Atlantic integration process, and other key Summit issues, including the international security situation. NATO is grateful to these partners for the significant contributions that they continue to make to NATO’s objectives and to international security and stability,” reads the summit declaration.
President Giorgi Margvelashvili, who led the Georgian delegation, held bilateral meetings with his French, Czech, Polish, Bulgarian and Latvian counterparts on the sideline of the summit.
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Rustavi 2
September 5, 2014
PM says Georgia performing worthily at Wales Summit
The Prime Minister of Georgia has praised the performance of the Georgian delegation at the NATO summit in Wales as worthy and successful. Irakli Gharibashvili expressed his hope at the meeting of the Cabinet today that the reforms carried out by the government and the progress achieved would be appropriately responded by the allies in the conclusive document of the Summit.
`Our delegation, which we sent to the NATO Summit in Wales, is performing very worthily and successfully. Today, we`ll be waiting for the final reports. I believe that our progress will be responded and this summit will bring Georgia closer to the Alliance; it will bring new opportunities for further development of the country and finally, our government works hard to promote our country and provide better security,` the Prime Minister said.
Source