“We see that some aim to keep Georgia or Ukraine caught in limbo, neither here nor there, which only heightens security risks rather than alleviating them,” said the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, 1tv.ge reports.
According to him, NATO membership is enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia.
“The Georgian people are no longer tolerant of such statements. They see what we are dealing with. In 2008, it was said that the doors were open; seventeen years have passed since then. Georgia has done everything, both institutionally and militarily, through rapprochement, participation in wars, and fighting alongside NATO forces. Whatever country Mr Rutte was the Prime Minister of, we sent ten times more troops to Afghanistan than that country. So, the finger-pointing and questions must come to an end. The Georgian people are no longer naive. The ball is entirely in NATO’s court. Georgia has fulfilled all requirements for NATO membership; not only does it want to join, but it is also enshrined in our constitution.
We can also look to Ukraine as an example. In 2022, when the war was beginning, President Zelenskyy publicly asked whether Ukraine would be accepted into NATO. If the answer was no, he said, they would announce it and move on, possibly resolving some tension. But neither response came. The ball remains in NATO’s court.
Georgia has done everything: participating in international missions, with 70% of our military personnel involved in various missions and exercises. In terms of compatibility and institutional development, we are ahead of seven or eight NATO member countries in all parameters. The Georgian people are no longer naive,” concluded Papuashvili.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated: “Any country in the Euro-Atlantic space wanting to become a member of NATO can make the wish known and then there is a process.”
