Georgian President Saakashvili said at a news briefing, upon his arrival from Turkey, that the NATO Istanbul summit was ?a huge success for Georgia.?
?The participants greatly focused on the Caucasus region, that means that our country deserves the attention of the North Atlantic Alliance,? Mikheil Saakashvili said.
According to Georgian media reports, Mikheil Saakashvili said in an interview to the French newspaper Le Figaro, published on June 30, that Georgia might become a NATO member country in as early as four years.
In the same interview Saakashvili stressed that ?NATO is a ticket [for Georgia] for accessing the European Union.?
The Georgian President, who will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 2, tried to ease Moscow?s fears by saying that Tbilisi does not need U.S. bases in Georgia.
?Unfortunately, the Russian Foreign Minister got upset over the NATO?s increased attention towards Georgia,? Saakashvili said.
?Russia fears that U.S. troops will be deployed on the Georgian soil, but we don?t need this,? Saakashvili said in an interview to Le Figaro.