Georgia in NATO Brussels Summit Communiqué

Heads of State and Government of the 30 members of NATO issued today the Brussels Summit Communiqué, reiterating among others the 2008 Bucharest Summit decision that “Georgia will become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan as an integral part of the process.”

The NATO leaders stressed they stand firm in “support for Georgia’s right to decide its own future and foreign policy course free from outside interference.” The document also emphasized the Alliance’s support to Georgia in “building resilience against hybrid threats, in training and exercises, and in secure communications.”

Georgia on its part demonstrated its commitment and capacity to contribute to Euro-Atlantic security through “substantial contributions” to NATO operations, the declaration highlighted.

Welcoming the April 19 EU-brokered deal, the NATO leaders stated the agreement “paves the way for the important reforms which will help Georgia, an aspirant country, progress in its preparations towards membership.”

“We commend the significant progress on reforms which Georgia has made and must continue to make, and which have helped Georgia strengthen its defense capabilities and interoperability with the Alliance,” the NATO leaders added.

Continuing on NATO-Georgia relations, the leaders of the Alliance said they are “working closely” with Tbilisi on the Black Sea region’s security in response to Russia’s “increasingly destabilizing activities.”

The document also reiterated support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia and called on Russia to withdraw its forces from occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia.

The NATO leaders further called on Moscow to “reverse its recognition” of the occupied regions as independent states, to implement the 2008 ceasefire agreement, and to “cease the human rights violations, arbitrary detentions, and harassments of Georgian citizens.”

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