At the 65th session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in London, the Committee on Civil Dimensions of Security approved the report by German rapporteur Ulla Schmidt – NATO at 70: Reaffirming the Alliance’s Values.

As Georgian First Channel journalist reports from London, Georgia is mentioned several times in the document, stressing that Russia continues to follow this tradition, using every effort, to prevent neighbouring countries from escaping its perceived sphere of influence.

“Russia continues to follow this tradition, using every effort, including military force, to prevent neighbouring countries from escaping its perceived sphere of influence – aggression against Ukraine and Georgia are the most prominent examples of this”, – reads the document.

The report notes that “Commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law continues to be an important prerequisite for NATO membership of three remaining candidate countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine. All three have made significant progress in consolidating democratic political systems and holding a series of competitive elections. NATO advisors have been instrumental in helping Georgia and Ukraine draft their recent legislation, significantly enhancing democratic parliamentary oversight of the defence and security sectors”.

In addition, according to document Georgia and Ukraine are firmly on track with their transformation process.

“The trends show that both Georgia and Ukraine are firmly on track with their transformation process and are catching up with current NATO members in international ratings that assess the level of media freedom, the rule of law, and the business environment. In Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2018, Georgia ranked higher than ten NATO members and one soon-to-become member”, – reads the report.