Ex-senior British military officer: ‘process of Georgia’s joining NATO is in fact well underway’

Former senior British military officer and the former Leader of the British Conservatives in the European Parliament Geoffrey van Orden says the process of Georgia’s joining the NATO is well underway. 

If this sounds fanciful – a small country, 20% of which has been illegally occupied by Russia since 2008, joining the largest Western military alliance – the process is in fact well underway. The NATO-Georgia Commission, meeting in Batumi in October 2019, agreed to refresh the so-called Substantial NATO-Georgia Package, which has already been in existence for five years,” Orden said in his story for New Europe."

He says that at a time when NATO’s cohesion is under threat, and most European allies spend far too little on defence, Georgia is regarded as one of NATO’s closest operational partners. 

 It contributes troops to the NATO missions in Afghanistan at a higher level proportionately than any other country. The pro-Western government in Tbilisi is determined to fulfil the decision made by NATO at its 2008 Bucharest Summit that Georgia will become a member of the Alliance. This is a goal shared both by the ruling Georgian Dream party, and by the population at large, where support for NATO membership runs at around 80%."

Former senior British military officer and the former Leader of the British Conservatives in the European Parliament Geoffrey van Orden has praised Georgia in his recent story for New Europe. Photo: flckr.

Orden says that the Georgian government has recently acceded to NATO’s cybersecurity platform, becoming only the second non-NATO country after Finland to join the platform. 

The timing is no coincidence. Tbilisi has been on the frontline of not only territorial aggression but of cyber and disinformation attacks from Russia. The Georgian government has worked hand-in-hand with both the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre and the US’ intelligence services and has exposed efforts by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency to cripple parts of the Georgian government’s online ecosystem.

Orden said that Georgia was among the ‘first of our friends to back post-Brexit Britain and seek a close future partnership.’

In return,  we must now show our good faith and strengthen our relationship both with Georgia and with its friendly neighbours.

In the story Orden also said that the Georgian economy is developing stably. 

See the full story here.