Georgia, Tbilisi, Oct. 1 /Trend, N.Kirtskhalia/
Russia may become a strategic partner of NATO, which will regulate its relations with Georgia, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a joint press conference with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in Tbilisi today.
"The principle of NATO's cooperation with Russia does not contradict to our open door policy, but rather contributes to its development and the creation of the security architecture of the Euro-Atlantic space," he said.
According to the secretary-general, "improving relations with Russia will lead to a change in relations between Moscow and Tbilisi, and we believe that to establish relations between Brussels and Moscow has already led to a reduction of tensions in the region, as it strengthens the security of Georgia."
According to Rasmussen, the alliance is committed to Georgia's territorial integrity and acts in its relations with Moscow from this principle. "We do not intend to sacrifice the interests of Georgia in relations with Russia, but we believe that improving relations with Russia and finding peaceful ways serve the security of Europe as a whole as well as Georgia," he said.
Rasmussen believes that Georgia will join NATO, when satisfies its requirements and standards.
The Georgian President said that the confrontation with Russia was a consequence of Georgia's NATO aspirations. "We do not intend to give up our position and abandon our commitment to NATO, and for us the alliance is the way of our freedom, which we will never give up," he said.