Georgian FM, New NATO Deputy SecGen Meet in Brussels

Georgian Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani, who is visiting Brussels on November 20, met with Mircea Geoană, the new Deputy Secretary General of NATO, on the sidelines of the NATO Foreign Ministerial today. 

“Had an excellent meeting with Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană discussing NATO-Georgia busy and fruitful agenda and upcoming events,” FM Zalkaliani wrote on Twitter following the meeting, noting that “NATO’s unwavering support to Georgia was once again confirmed.”

According to Zalkaliani, this ministerial meeting is the last high-level event ahead of the NATO Leaders’ Meeting in London scheduled for December 3-4. Therefore, he said, “this format should be maximally used to reflect Georgia’s progress on the path to NATO integration.”

The Georgian FM also announced that Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration will be among the key issues of discussions with his upcoming meetings with his German and French counterparts, during his visits to Berlin and Paris in near future. 

At the meeting with the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Minister Zalkaliani also spoke of the recent detention and sentencing of Georgian doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili in occupied Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia as well. Calling Gaprindashvili “an illegal hostage,” Zalkaliani said, the doctor should be “immediately released.”

The Georgian FM spoke of Gaprindashvili’s illegal detention with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini; OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Miroslav Lajčák, and United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo as well.

Read also:

FM Zalkaliani Hopes Georgian Doctor will be Released ‘within Very Tight Deadline’

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