“Our readiness and vigilance are the main guarantors of peace. Given the new geopolitical reality, holding a joint Georgia-NATO military exercise is a strong message of unity, confirming that NATO continues to support its partners’ sovereign aspirations,” Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili stated at the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center, where he attended joint NATO-Georgia drills.

Shalva Papuashvili spoke about the long-term close cooperation between Georgia and the North Atlantic Alliance.

“It is a great honor for Georgia to host the NATO-Georgia multinational exercise for the third time. The cooperation between NATO and Georgia numbers many years. Georgia has always stood by NATO and NATO partners in times of need, often to a significantly greater extent than was required of Georgia. In the most difficult parts of the world, our servicemen and servicewomen fought, risking their lives and health, alongside American, German, Turkish, Polish, French, British, Romanian, and other partners, defending the interests of our country and our partners, as well as regional and global peace and security.

In Afghanistan and Iraq, 35 of our heroic soldiers sacrificed their lives to defend common goals and values, and more than 300 sustained bodily injuries. I bow before their courage and fortitude; we must all remember their sacrifice well.

Georgia was one of the largest participants per capita of the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. Our brave warriors from our cities and villages, highlands and lowlands, defended in remote Afghanistan and Iraq something that is very precious to each of us – our freedom and our homeland. In the end, even as NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan, Georgia faithfully and unselfishly stood by its partners, assisting them with the operation to evacuate their troops and refugees, Shalva Papuashvili said.

According to the Parliament Speaker, the NATO-Georgia partnership, which is based on the values of freedom, independence, respect for human rights, and love for the homeland, has facilitated the development of country’s armed forces.

“The decades of NATO-Georgia partnership, which is based on the values of freedom, independence, respect for human rights, and love for the homeland, has facilitated the development of our country’s armed forces, its increased combat readiness, its modern equipment and training. 80 percent of the Georgian Defense Forces have served with dignity within the framework of NATO and EU missions. Today, our praiseworthy military servicemen can accomplish the most difficult of objectives. There are no questions regarding their readiness and professionalism, as well as their compatibility with NATO standards.

Georgia has repeatedly proven that it is NATO’s reliable and experienced partner, capable of making a valuable contribution to global peace and security,” Shalva Papuashvili said.

He underscored that importance of today’s exercise and expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people.

“Today’s exercise is of particular importance in the face of a sharply deteriorating security environment, against the backdrop of Russian aggression against Ukraine. This war does not concern only Ukraine – it is a threat to Georgia, to Europe in its entirety, and to international order.

Once again, we express our solidarity with the Ukrainian people and hope that the war will end soon.

Our readiness and vigilance are the main guarantors of peace. Given the new geopolitical reality, holding a joint Georgia-NATO military exercise is a strong message of unity, confirming that NATO continues to support its partners’ sovereign aspirations,” he said.

According to Papuashvili, the Defense Forces stood with dignity at the front lines of the battle in 2008, when Russia was bombing Georgia. He also noted that Defense Forces, together with representatives of the healthcare and law enforcement bodies, took on the task of ensuring security and order during pandemic.

“In 2008, as Russia bombed Georgian cities, villages, airports, peaceful civilians, our hopes and our European future, the Defense Forces stood with dignity at the front lines of the battle.

In 2020, when the terrible ordeal of the global pandemic impacted our country and our families, it was the Defense Forces, together with representatives of the healthcare and law enforcement bodies, that took on the task of ensuring security and order.

Against the backdrop of visible or invisible threats, we have high hopes for the Defense Forces who have always provided our people and the public with examples of patriotism, heroism, dignity, and humanity. And today, it is a progressive force on our country’s path toward Euro-Atlantic integration. We reaffirm the support and backing of the Parliament of Georgia to each and every military serviceman,” he added.