Georgian Opposition MPs Support NATO Membership
On 19 June, opposition MPs in the Georgian parliament wrote a letter supporting Georgia's NATO membership, which was delivered to Alexander Vinnikov, the head of NATO's liaison office in Georgia.
According to the letter, NATO membership is the main way to support Georgia's independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty, democracy and national security. In their letter, the opposition MPs stressed that they would uphold Georgia's constitution and national interests. They noted the unwavering support of the Georgian people for NATO membership, as demonstrated by the outcome of the 2008 vote on NATO membership. The signatories underlined the importance of NATO's "Open Door" policy in supporting democratic transitions in Central and Eastern Europe.
The letter emphasised the importance of the decision taken at the NATO Summit in Bucharest in 2008, stating that Georgia will eventually join NATO and has all the practical means to do so through the decisions taken at the NATO Summits in Wales and Warsaw. It also underlines that Georgia's substantial and continuing participation in NATO missions and operations, such as in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, demonstrates its commitment to the security of the Euro-Atlantic region.
Against this background, the undersigned parliamentarians reaffirm that Georgia's NATO membership, which enjoys broad and unanimous political and popular support, is the most important instrument for strengthening Georgia's independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty, democracy and national security. They also expressed their unwavering solidarity with Ukraine in its struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity against the full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation, underlining that this conflict is an extension of the open military attack on Georgia in 2008. The parliamentarians stressed that the Euro-Atlantic region cannot enjoy peace based on international law without Georgia and Ukraine joining NATO. They welcomed NATO's decision to admit Finland and will soon admit Sweden, setting a precedent for membership in the Alliance without a Membership Action Plan (MAP).