Georgian parliamentary political parties today will sign a joint statement in support of Georgia’s NATO integration ahead of the June 14 Brussels NATO Summit.

“We, the undersigned parliamentary political parties of Georgia: Guided by the national interests of Georgia and the Constitution of Georgia; Reaffirming the Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on the Foreign Policy of Georgia adopted on December 29, 2020; Adhering to the principles of the rules-based international order; Adhering fully to the values on which the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is founded; Taking into account that the sustained commitment of NATO Member States to collective defense has ensured ‘Europe whole, free, and at peace’. Noting that the NATO Open Door policy has been a major contributing factor to the democratic transformation of Central and Eastern Europe; Taking into account the 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit decision that Georgia will become a member of NATO; Noting that Georgia has all practical tools for NATO membership, continues to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities and progresses in achieving full interoperability with NATO; Taking into consideration that Georgia has demonstrated its commitment to being an important contributor to Euro-Atlantic security through participating in NATO peacekeeping missions and operations. Stand united in supporting Georgia’s NATO membership and declare the following:

1. We unanimously reaffirm that NATO membership remains a vital national security interest of Georgia, enjoying broad consensual political and societal support.
2. We express appreciation to the Alliance and its Member States for the essential political and practical support, which allows Georgia to boost its resilience and interoperability with the Alliance as well as to prepare Georgia for the membership in NATO.
3. We call on NATO and its Member States to continue their close partnership with Georgia as it prepares to implement ambitious reforms jointly agreed by parliamentary political parties to complete democratic consolidation, as well as to provide more vigorous assistance and experience sharing in the fight against emerging and hybrid threats.
4. We underline the importance of deepening cooperation on Black Sea security. The wider Black Sea security environment has significantly deteriorated in recent years, given that Russian activities threaten regional security and democracies in this region. Taking this into account, NATO’s engagement in the Black Sea as an essential deterring and stabilising factor, has acquired more significance than ever.
5. We welcome the ambitious report NATO 2030: United for a New Era and express hope that the new Strategic Concept of the Alliance will properly reflect the report’s recommendations on the Open Door Policy as well as NATO’s vision regarding the Black Sea and its role in ensuring Euro-Atlantic security.
6. We express our joint commitment to stronger NATO acting in defense of peace, democracy and prosperity of freedom-loving nations, including Georgia.
7. We underscore the importance of moving forward with the political decision bringing Georgia closer to membership in the Alliance. Extending NATO membership to Georgia and other aspiring countries in Eastern Europe will reinforce security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic area, deter potential aggressors and bring us closer to a ‘Europe that is whole, free, and at peace’.
8. We believe that the upcoming NATO Brussels Summit provides an opportunity to register progress on Georgia’s NATO membership path. Since Georgia is not represented at the summit, we ask our NATO partners to take this joint statement of the parliamentary political parties as an explicit multi-party support towards Georgia’s NATO membership.
9. We stand ready to use all available platforms, including international inter-parliamentary assemblies, to support deeper integration and eventual NATO membership of Georgia,” reads the statement.

The NATO 2030 initiative will be the main issue for discussion at the upcoming Summit of NATO leaders on June 14 in Brussels.

“The goal of our NATO 2030 initiative is to prepare our Alliance for the future. Over the past months, Allies have been consulting closely and constructively; we still have some work to do, but we all agree that we must take ambitious and forward-looking decisions to show transatlantic unity not just in words, but in deeds,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a virtual press conference on June 1.

Source: https://1tv.ge/en/news/parliamentary-parties-to-sign-joint-statement-in-support-of-georgias-nato-integration/

Today, speaking at a Government meeting, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has made a statement regarding upcoming elections. 

"In a few days important Municipal Elections will be held in our country. I am convinced that these elections will be yet another proof that as a result of democratic reforms and changes implemented in our country, holding free and fair elections has become a common practice. I would like to welcome the fact that the pre-election period was unprecedentedly calm, all electoral subjects had the opportunity to run free and peaceful campaigns, which demonstrates that “Georgian Dream”, the political team in power ensures holding free and democratic, competitive elections,’ he has remarked.

‘Therefore, two days before the elections, I would like to address primarily the state institutions, secondarily the political powers and thirdly the society as a whole: let’s hold these elections in a manner that will represent yet another step towards reinforcement of truly European democracy in Georgia, leave the violent elections in the past and forget the word for past fraudulent, violent elections altogether,’ the Georgian Pm has declared. 

‘This is extremely important and we believe that throughout the last five years we have taken significant steps on the path of building such Georgia, such democracy. I would also like to urge the state agencies to give no reason for anyone to say a word about using administrative resources. I would like to address our supporters and emphasize that our strength is in respecting different opinion. 

Our advantage stems from this principle. This is the major difference and important change that was brought about in our country in 2012 and this was confirmed many times in all elections held after 2012. I believe that our population duly values this huge transformation which was implemented in our country.

I am convinced that a democracy of completely different rank and level brought by “Georgian Dream” will be duly valued by our society as it was the case in last few elections. I would like to particularly address the law enforcement representatives and police to spare no effort in preventing any possible acts of violence, so nothing can cast a shadow on these elections.

This is most important and I am convinced that all relevant agencies will do their utmost in this direction. Once again, I would like to urge our society to go to the polling stations and vote, this is important for the development of our country and building an even better future. As a result of the changes implemented in our country, the link between the will of the voters and the responsibility of the Government should strengthen further. This link is the most important factor; this is the link that was created by our government and I believe these elections will serve as yet another example of it,’ Giorgi Kvirikashvili has remarked. 

The President of Georgia calls to the political parties and the ruling party to have a dialogue for working together on territorial integrity process of Georgia.
“On the background of occupation and annexation, I offered a political dialogue to the political spectrum and non-governmental organizations last year. All the political forces took part in the consultation, except the ruling coalition, which to put it mildly, was incomprehensible for me,”-Giorgi Margvelashvili said.
He once more calls to the political parties and the ruling party to have a dialogue for working together on territorial integrity process of Georgia.