PM reiterates Georgia's readiness to deepen cooperation with NATO

Georgia is a reliable partner of NATO and is ready for further deepening of cooperation with the alliance.

The country's prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili, made the remarks at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following talks in Brussels on April 25, TASS reports.

"Georgia, as one of the most reliable and capable partners, has a pretty good track record in terms of contributing to the alliance's missions. We contribute to Euro-Atlantic security and peace. We are ready to further deepen our political dialogue and practical cooperation with NATO in all dimensions," said Garibashvili.

The head of the Georgian government travelled to Brussels on a working visit on April 24. Garibashvili has already held talks with the head of the European Council, Charles Michel.

Georgia has been cooperating with NATO since the late 1990s. In November 2002, at the Prague Summit, then-President Eduard Shevardnadze declared the country's desire to become a member of the alliance. The next president, Mikheil Saakashvili, reiterated this aspiration. The “Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia” party, which came to power in 2012, continued its course towards NATO integration, but at the same time the authorities called "the most important task" of the country's foreign policy the "gradual normalisation of relations with Russia not to the detriment of the territorial integrity of Georgia".

In 2017, an entry appeared in the Georgian constitution on the need for constitutional bodies to take all possible measures to ensure the country's full integration into the EU and NATO.