NATO Chief: Georgia Must Implement Reforms to Gain NATO Entry
By VOA News
16 September 2008
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has urged Georgia to actively implement democratic reforms if it hopes to gain NATO entry.
In comments to students at Tbilisi State University the secretary general warned Georgia not to use the crisis brought on by last month's conflict with Russia as an excuse to stall the reform process. Earlier, De Hoop Scheffer again stressed that the road toward NATO entry is "wide open" for Georgia - despite Russian opposition.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, in a subsequent address to parliament, outlined a series of reforms he described as needed to bring his country closer to NATO standards.
De Hoop Scheffer on Monday accused Moscow of using "indiscriminate force" during last month's incursion into Georgia. But he did not say whether the alliance will put the country on track to NATO membership in December.
De Hoop Scheffer and his delegation of 26 NATO ambassadors today visited the battle-scarred central Georgian city of Gori. The city of 50,000 has more than doubled in population, sheltering Georgians who fled South Ossetia last month following the Russian incursion.
Alliance officials were in Tbilisi for a two-day visit for the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Georgia Cooperation Commission.
Russia strongly opposes NATO expansion toward its borders, and had urged NATO to cancel the visit, which was planned before Russian-Georgian military hostilities erupted August seventh.
Russia sent thousands of troops into the breakaway Georgian territory of South Ossetia last month after Georgia tried to reclaim the region by force.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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