Contents tagged with Georgia

  • Georgian Defense Ministry: NATO cannot ensure security in the Black Sea without the aid of Georgia

    The issue of the Black Sea’s security, which is being considered by NATO, cannot be successful without Georgia,a as expressed by the republic's Defense Minister, Tinatin Khidasheli, Interfax reports.

    "Today, NATO is actively working on the Black Sea security issue, and Georgia is participating in it. Any decision that will be adopted at the [NATO] summit in Warsaw will be made with Georgia. No matter whether Georgia is a member of NATO or not, this is the direction and challenge; we have …

  • Georgian Defense Minister: Brexit does not change Georgia's relationship with the EU and NATO

    Georgian Defense Minister Tinatin Khidasheli believes that the UK’s decision to withdraw from the European Union will not affect the relationship between Georgia and the EU, Interfax-Ukraine reported. She also said that Georgia’s relationship with NATO remains unchanged.

    Commenting on the UK’s referendum, in which 52% of voters supported leaving the EU, Khidasheli said “of course this changes international politics and international relations,” but in the matter of cooperation between Georgia …

  • Finland is ready to support visa-free travel for Ukrainians and Georgians to the EU

    Finland is ready to support visa-free travel for Ukrainian and Georgian citizens to the EU, but is not prepared to do the same for citizens of Turkey and Kosovo, according to the Finnish Secretary of State, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, Yle reported.

    As stated by Heinonen, Turkey and Kosovo have not fulfilled the conditions necessary to receive a visa-free regime with the EU.

    "The issue of visa-free regime for Turkey remains open," the Finnish Secretary of State said following a meeting of EU …

  • EU Council has not come to an agreement on visa-free regimes for Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo and Turkey

    During a meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council on Friday in Luxembourg, Ministers of the EU countries were not able to reach an agreement on the liberalization of the visa regime for Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo and Turkey, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

    "We’ve talked about the liberalization of visa policies, noting the progress made by all countries, including Turkey. But we have not made a decision yet, because some EU countries still see a number of problems and are not able to agree. …

  • The US will not recognize a referendum in South Ossetia to join Russia

    The US does not support the possibility of holding a referendum to allow the state of South Ossetia to join the Russian Federation. This was said by the State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, and was reported on the department’s website.

    “We support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, which includes South Ossetia. This means that we do not accept any attempts by South Ossetia to break away or declare its sovereignty,” Toner said.

    South Ossetia has changed the date for …

  • Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are in favor of holding joint military exercises

    The Defense Ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey have agreed to hold joint military exercises in order to increase the combat readiness of their armed forces. This was said by the Head of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov.

    “We are in favor of conducting trilateral military exercises with the aim of raising the level of combat readiness of our armed forces. We also hope to establish cooperation in the field of military education, to develop cooperation in …

  • President of Georgia expressed confidence that his country will join NATO

    The President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, expressed confidence that soon, "Georgia, undoubtedly, will become a member of NATO."

    Speaking at the opening of joint military exercises, Noble Partner 2016, with the United States of America and Great Britain he declared that these exercises are a "continuation of our policy on rapprochement with NATO."

    About 500 Georgian, 650 American and 150 British soldiers are taking part in the exercises. The official purpose of the exercises is the …

  • Ukrainian and Georgian delegates to attend NATO Military Committee meeting

    NATO announced that the Alliance’s Military Committee will convene a meeting at the level of Defense Chiefs in Brussels on May 18th. Ukrainian and Georgian delegates will attend the meeting as partners of NATO in order to coordinate security and defense with the Alliance.

    In particular, the Georgian delegation will discuss the progress of defense reforms and the country’s further cooperation with NATO.

    Representatives of Ukraine will address the security situation in the country. Reform in …

  • Georgian President is confident that his country will join the EU

    Speaking before the opening of the concert dedicated to the Europe Day at the State Theater of Opera and Ballet in Tbilisi, President Giorgi Margvelashvili stated that Georgia is taking steps in the direction of European integration, and that the forthcoming elections will be held in accordance with European standards, RBC reported.

    “Georgia became independent 25 years ago but we are still taking steps in order to become free. We need to build our values to belong to European society. We need …

  • In response to Moscow's criticism, Tbilisi says Georgia can carry out exercises with any partner on its sovereign territory

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia issued a statement in response to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s comments on the joint Georgian-American exercise “Noble Partner 2016.” Moscow stated that Washington “appeases revanchist ambitions of Tbilisi.” The Georgian Foreign Ministry replied that Georgia is a sovereign and independent state and has a right to carry out training on its territory together with any partner.

    “It is worth noting that the exercises are not aimed at any country. Such …