Georgian Foreign Ministry against Russian MFA's statement

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has raised objections against a statement made by the Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday, Report informs.

The Foreign Ministry considers it unacceptable for Moscow to call on NATO to abandon plans for Georgia and Ukraine to join the Alliance.

Thus, on April 3, 2008, the NATO summit in Bucharest decided that Georgia and Ukraine would join the Alliance: "This decision is a critical political decision based on the consensus and fundamental principles of international law, which establishes the sovereign right of all states to choose their foreign policy course."

The MFA stressed that Georgia's membership in NATO is supported by an absolute majority of the country's population, and this goal is reflected in the Constitution:

"Any statement by a third party regarding the reconsideration of the decision of the Bucharest Summit contradicts the basic principles and norms of international law and is unacceptable for the Foreign Ministry."

A statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday said that the decision of the NATO Bucharest Summit on the accession of Ukraine and Georgia to the Alliance should be officially considered invalid in the interests of European security. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in turn, refused to comply with Russia's request. He noted that the Alliance's position on the issue has not changed.