No Exact Dates for Georgia’s Membership, NATO SecGen Says

NATO Allies will not provide any dates for Georgia’s membership at today’s Summit, said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today at the NATO 2030 at Brussels Forum.

In his opening speech delivered to the Forum held against the backdrop of the 2021 Brussels Summit, the Secretary General said he expects the NATO leaders to confirm their previous decisions, including of the 2008 Bucharest Summit “where we stated clearly that Georgia will become a member.”

But, Secretary General Stoltenberg noted that instead of providing specific dates for joining the Alliance, NATO is focused on supporting reforms in Georgia, including modernizing its “defense and security institutions.”

“The message is that NATO’s door is open, we demonstrated that over the last couple of years with Montenegro and North Macedonia joining,” he added.

Continuing on Georgia’s membership prospects, the Secretary General stressed “it is only for the” aspirant country and the Allies to decide on further enlargement – “Russia has no right to interfere in that process.”

He highlighted that NATO has meanwhile increased its presence in the Black Sea, with more air policing, naval presence and exercises. It is part of the Alliance’s 2030 agenda to figure out how to invest more in the defense activities in the region, the Secretary General concluded.

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