Trump Says “Not Right Now” to Georgia’s NATO Aspirations

A meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government was held on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 July 2018 in Brussels, Belgium.

Georgia’s NATO aspirations were a topic of discussion at the summit. When asked about Georgia’s prospective NATO membership at a Brussels press conference, U.S. President Donald Trump replied “At a certain point they have a chance, but not right now. It is a tough situation with Georgia,” and noted that the Georgian delegation made “a very favorable impression.”

On July 13, Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said "Georgia has a lot of allies who are interested in Georgia and actively support the agenda of our country. They want us to join both [the European Union and NATO]. We have been following a very bright path for the last 10 years and every summit is a step forward for us, including this summit where the leaders of the NATO member states assembled and gave the current events of Ukraine and Georgia a suitable name - Russian aggression and the occupation of independent states. They stated very clearly that Georgia will become a member of NATO and gave us the additional tools for strengthening our defense capabilities.”

Margvelashvili added, "We have heard lots of very clear commitments from the NATO member countries about intensifying support to strengthen Georgia’s defensibility and NATO’s presence in Georgia. I think we have a very clear argument that is based on the previous experiences of our allies and continuous progress that we all witness if we want to call things by name and not fall to propaganda.”

At a joint briefing with President Margvelashvili, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said “We fully support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Georgia will become a member of NATO. Allied leaders reaffirmed this yesterday. And we will continue to work with you to prepare for membership.”

Margvelashvili stressed the importance of strengthening the partnership between Georgia and the United States, highlighting the U.S. role in supporting Georgia’s NATO membership aspirations, according to Margvelashvili’s press office.

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: CHANNEL 90 seconds TV, YouTube