The Georgian Foreign Minister, Ilia Darchiashvili, has been invited to attend the NATO summit in Washington from July 9-11, according to a report by the Georgian bureau of Voice of America citing State Department spokesman Mathew Miller. The State Department has not yet received an official response from Tbilisi. When asked about this, Miller urged VoA to contact the Georgian government directly and emphasized that the State Department encourages the GD government to take swift steps to realign Georgia with the Euro-Atlantic path in accordance with the will of its people and the country's constitution.

Earlier in the week, it was revealed that the US planned to invite Georgia to the NATO Summit in Washington, following a statement to the foreign media by Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien.

Alexander Vinnikov, head of the NATO liaison office in Tbilisi, informed Formula TV that no specific meeting focused on Georgia is planned during the summit. However, he mentioned that the US Secretary of State has invited colleagues from partner countries, including Georgia, to participate in working sessions. Vinnikov emphasized the significance of Georgia's participation at the level of a foreign minister, similar to its involvement in the Vilnius summit the previous year, and highlighted Georgia's longstanding value as a partner.

On June 28, the Georgian Ministry confirmed that a delegation led by Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili would participate in the Summit. The Ministry stated that the Foreign Minister would attend foreign ministers' meeting in the format of partner countries on July 10, as well as other events and bilateral meetings scheduled within the framework of the Summit. The MFA clarified that the Summit's program provides for the participation of partner countries at the foreign minister level, which is why the Foreign Minister of Georgia was invited to the summit in Washington.

In a related development, Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands and future NATO Secretary General, expressed concern about Georgia's EU accession path during his remarks before the European Council meeting on June 27. He called on Georgia to return to the EU path, stating, "I am worried about Georgia's EU accession path because of the recent decisions. I spoke briefly with the President; I think she's a formidable leader, but the veto was overturned by Parliament, unfortunately. We expect and hope that Georgia will return to the path to the EU."

Rutte stressed that the Georgian government must make the necessary changes, saying, "Of course, we expect Georgia to come back on this issue." He declined to comment on Georgia's NATO integration before officially taking office as NATO Secretary General, stating, "I am not going to comment on NATO-related issues until October 1."

MP Teona Akubardia made the following argument: "Georgia, which, I emphasize, will not be represented at the NATO summit, but only as part of the NATO program "Partnership for Peace" and even there only at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, this is a catastrophic setback on the country's path to joining NATO."

She added: "Just recently, we saw the statement of the American side on the mentioned NATO program, which, let's remind you, our country has been a participant since 1994, that is, since Shevardnadze's time, and it has been moving forward very successfully for years. We heard a clear message that when the Georgian government starts acting like an aspirant country, it is possible to start talking about transitioning to a new level regarding the country's integration into the alliance”.