NATO to Offer Enhanced Package to Georgia at Warsaw Summit in July

BRUSSELS – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday met with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili at NATO’s Headquarters in Brussels for talks on the Western alliance’s partnership with Georgia.

During a joint press conference with President Margvelashvili, Stoltenberg praised Georgia for its contributions to Euro-Atlantic security and its strong commitment to NATO.

“At the Warsaw Summit next month, we will further strengthen our package of support for Georgia,” Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg highlighted that Georgia is the third-largest contributor to NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and welcomed Georgia’s impressive defense reforms.

“Georgian troops have been standing shoulder to shoulder with NATO for many years,” he said. “Over the past two years, we have put in place a Substantial NATO-Georgia package of support to strengthen Georgia’s defense capabilities...Its implementation is on track,” he added, referencing the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre located outside the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

Stoltenberg reiterated that NATO would continue to support Georgia in moving closer to the alliance with further training and joint missions.

In early May, more than 1,200 troops including, 500 Georgian, 650 US and 150 British took part in the NATO-led Noble Partner exercises hold in Georgia. The exercises were seen as a major step towards boosting the small South Caucasus nation’s defensive capabilities against its giant neighbor Russia to the north.

Moscow was outraged by the drills and described the exercises as a provocative move by NATO that was aimed at destabilizing the Caucasus region and an attempt to check Russia’s interests in what it sees as its traditional sphere of influence.

By Tamar Svanidze
Edited by Nicholas Waller