NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, James Appathurai, believes Georgians can be pleased about the NATO Summit Communique because it implies many significant issues for Georgia.

James Appathurai exclusively told the Georgian Public Broadcaster that the communique reiterates the Bucharest Summit pledge that Georgia will join NATO. Also, NATO’s decision to strengthen the open door policy is crucial.

“I would say if you look at the NATO Brussels summit, there is a lot in there beyond one sentence, which I think Georgians can be quite pleased about. First, it does reiterate that Georgia will enter NATO based on the Bucharest decision and subsequent decisions. Second, we took a decision that the open door of NATO is to be strengthened that we need to do more to make sure that the door is open and to help the countries that want to join NATO to prepare for memberships,” James Appathurai said.

NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative exclusively confirmed to GPB that the allies are working on concrete steps to enhance support to Georgia and Ukraine to prepare more actively for NATO membership.

“We need to do more to make sure that the door is open and to help the countries that want to join NATO to prepare for memberships. So, from now on, towards our December Foreign Ministers’ meeting and the summit next year in Madrid, we are working on concrete steps to enhance support to Georgia and to Ukraine to prepare more actively with more support from us, for NATO membership. But also to look at how we in NATO can be more open. So, that’s the second element. The third element is the Black Sea. We recognize that security is deteriorating in the Black Sea for us, as well as for Georgia and Ukraine. So, there’ll be concrete steps that we’re working on now to do even more than we are doing to cooperate when it comes to the Black Sea. There are very tough messages on Russia, including that we recognize that Russia is in essence de-stabilizing its neighbourhood, and we understand why that’s happening,” Appathurai stated.

James Appathurai also stated that Georgia has all the practical tools necessary to prepare for membership. Georgians shouldn’t see MAP as a barrier. It’s a political step, he said.

“The next step for Georgia from a sort of the political point of view is indeed Membership Action Plan. That is set out in all of our documents and, unless there’s a change of policy, that is a required step, but what is also clear to those of us who work on this issue, is Georgia has all the practical tools necessary to prepare for membership. We have the annual national program. We have the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, everything Georgia needs to prepare for membership from a practical point of view it has, it is implementing, and we’re doing it. MAP has become what it wasn’t intended to be from those of us, you know, down in the engine room, who helped develop it. It was intended to be a practical tool. It has now taken on a political resonance. So. I think Georgians shouldn’t see it as a barrier. It’s a political step. What we need to do now to prepare for the membership we have, and we can cross the MAP bridge when we come to it,” James Appathurai told GPB.