Security Council Discusses NATO Summit, Russian Threats
President Giorgi Margvelashvili called for a National Security Council (NSC) meeting on Monday afternoon.
The NSC press service reports that the key issues of the meeting were:
- The number of military forces of Georgia in 2018;
- Progress of implementation of the NATO-Georgia essential package, Georgian Defense Preparedness Program and key issues of the Georgian National Defense Plan;
- Georgia’s participation in international peacekeeping missions;
- Russian Federation military drills on the occupied territories of Georgia and their impact on the country's defense capabilities;
- Preparations for the NATO Summit.
Margvelashvili said after the NSC meeting that they had spoken about the NATO Summit. He noted the necessity of underlining Georgia’s progress at the summit in Brussels.
“Georgia is really a leading country and this should be reflected in relevant steps that will lead us to NATO membership," he noted.
According to the President of Georgia, the hybrid threats coming from Russia and the progress of reforms in the defense system were also discussed at the meeting.
"It is very important to increase the support of our strategic partner, the US. We talked about the President's initiative on the adoption of supportive acts in the US Senate and Congress and I can say with satisfaction that here there is full unanimity between the parliament and the government around this issue”, said Margvelashvili.
Georgian Vice-Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze stated that discussions at the Security Council meeting focused on all steps that need to be taken by the Foreign Ministry in order to achieve the result at the NATO Summit which has been long awaited by the Georgian people.
“During the NATO Summit, Georgia will be represented in all respective formats. We effectively use all tools at the disposal of Georgia and expect that this fact will be duly reflected in the Summit decisions,” the minister stated after the meeting.
The National Security Council is an advisory body to the President of Georgia, and is empowered to consider issues determined by the Organic Law on National Security Council of Georgia to draft highest political decisions. It was set up mainly to organize the military development and defense of the country. The President of Georgia is the head the National Security Council and approves its structure, personnel, and regulations concerning the Office and its subdivisions.
The regular statutory attendees of the National Security Council are the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Defense Minister, the Interior Minister, the Finance Minister, and the Secretary of the National Security Council. The Speaker of Parliament and the Head of the State Security Service (SSS) also participate regularly in the working of National Security Council.
By Thea Morrison