WORLD
“GEORGIA WILL BE READY TO JOIN NATO VERY SOON”
This statement was made by President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze. On September 15, in a radio address to the nation he said, “Much work has been recently implemented in the country to bring Georgian Armed Forces to conformity with NATO standards. There are no insuperable hindrances for Georgia to become a NATO member. We have fulfilled or close to fulfillment of 80 percent of necessary requirements to join the Alliance.” Then, President added, “if the country’s political course remains unchanged Georgia will be ready to join NATO within a short time”.
As mentioned, half a year ago E. Shevardnadze stated, “Georgia is very interested in joining NATO. However, taking into account Georgia’s geo-strategic position we can see that we are also necessary for NATO because the way to Azerbaijan and Caspian See, Central Asia and China lies across Georgia.”