The task is to neutralize the obstacles that accompany Georgia’s membership in NATO,-  David Kramer, the former United States Assistant Secretary of State told Georgian First Channel.

According to Kramer, the main goal is to reassure NATO allies, which may be worried about Georgia’s accession into NATO due to problems related to the occupied territories.

“The issue concerns to find ways to bring Georgia into NATO without risks coming from occupied territories. We have such precedents: Cyprus, West and East Germany. The idea is to ensure that Georgia receives protection, but at the same time, it is remarkable to cope with issues related to the disputed territories, which, of course, are the territories of Georgia, which Russia is currently occupying. The task is to neutralize the obstacles that accompany Georgia’s membership in NATO. The main goal is to reassure NATO allies, which may be worried about Georgia’s accession into NATO due to problems related to the occupied territories, which in no way implies recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia”, – David Kramer said.

As the former Secretary-General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a fifth international conference organized by the McCain Institute and the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) in Tbilisi, Georgia and NATO should consider whether Georgia wants to join NATO with the mechanism when Article 5 covers only territory controlled by Georgian Government.