Irakli Alasania Meets with James Appathurai
Thursday, July 10
The NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai met with the Minister of Defence of Georgia Irakli Alasania. The NATO Secretary General's Special Representative paid a two-day visit to Georgia aimed at working on the details of a new package with the Georgian side and to discuss the preparatory period ahead of the NATO Summit in Wales.
After the meeting held at the Georgian Defence Ministry, Irakli Alasania declared: “With Mr. Appathurai we discussed details of the package of proposals from NATO towards Georgia to be discussed at the NATO Summit. As NATO Secretary General's Special Representative outlined, the package consists of several elements: the first one is that Georgia will be better protected after the Summit and these proposals will guarantee more security for us and the most important of all, this will be another step forward to NATO membership. All our efforts are directed to achieve our goal of NATO membership in the nearest future. This and all other discussions with government officials will be crucial before the decisions are taken in NATO in the coming days.”
“In fact, I've had many substantial and very important meetings with the Defence Minister but this was probably one of the most substantial and the most important. Why? Because together we were working on the details of the package that will be approved at the NATO Summit and we are both determined that this package be very substantial - that it enhances the security for the Georgians and that it concretely moves Georgia towards NATO. All of these we have to discussed in Brussels but I think we have made a very good start. He has done a lot of good work and I think the foundation that he has given us can be built on in time to make the Summit a success,” James Appathurai said.
Chief of General Staff of the GAF, Major-General Vakhtang Kapanadze and Deputy Defence Minister Mikheil Darchiashvili attended the meeting as well. In the framework of the visit, James Appathurai met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Maia Panjikidze. Meetings are scheduled with the President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Aleksi Petriashvili and ambassadors of NATO countries accredited to Georgia.
