Shalva Papuashvili: A whole generation was born and raised, graduating from school so that we only have words from NATO, but no action has been taken - the statement is good, but no one can protect the country's security with a statement

The context of this statement is a bit unclear - Georgia has done and shown everything, but an entire generation was born and raised in such a way that we only have words from NATO in response and we do not have any decision related to MAP or any other that would show us that behind these words there is an effective decision and result-oriented steps, - the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, said in response to the statement released by the NATO Liaison Office.

According to him, the statement from their side is good, but no one can protect the country's security with a statement.

“Today we have a generation that was not even born (a generation that is actually graduating from school) when it was announced at the Bucharest Summit in 2008 that Georgia would become a member of NATO. Meanwhile, a whole generation has grown up, they are graduating from school with words spoken but no deeds done, despite the fact that Georgia showed everything it could show to NATO as a reliable partner. At a time when NATO member states were hiding from the Afghan mission, Georgia was represented by one of the largest contingents in Afghanistan. Let us recall that in terms of quantity, we were the third-fourth country in terms of numbers compared to NATO countries (not to mention the fact that we were in first place among non-member states [of the European Union]). We were represented by 1,000-1,500 soldiers, while the Baltic states were represented by 30-40 soldiers. So, whatever could be done on our part to show our reliable partnership, the importance of Georgia for NATO and the importance of NATO for Georgia, we have shown all this, although in response we only hear words and such statements, which, if I am not mistaken, were spread yesterday by the local NATO office. The statement is good, but no one can protect the security of the country with a statement, and we have seen this on the example of Ukraine, regarding which many statements are made, but everyone understands that NATO's nuclear umbrella is the most effective protection, and not statements from NATO offices," Papuashvili said.

For information, the NATO Liaison Office released a statement stating that NATO firmly supports the decisions taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit and subsequent summits on Georgia becoming a member of NATO.