Georgia, Tbilisi, March 29 / Trend N. Kirtskhalia /
Georgia may be admitted to NATO despite the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Giorgi Baramidze said on Tuesday.
"There is a precedent, when Germany, which was 40 percent occupied by the former Soviet Union, became a member of NATO, and this precedent creates favorable conditions for Georgia," State Minister for European Integration Baramidze said.
Georgia's accession to NATO has been discussed for a long time. NATO officials periodically make statements about their readiness to accept Georgia into the alliance, but in practice the sides have not moved forward in this matter.
Baramidze said Georgia will join NATO as soon as it meets its requirements.
There is an annual action program between Georgia and NATO, which the minister said is "an important mechanism" to join the alliance.
"NATO will decide on Georgia's NATO membership as soon as we are ready," Baramidze said.
At the meeting, in addition to Georgia's NATO membership, the sides discussed the liberation of the Georgian territories by peaceful means and prospects of reunifying the country.
Although NATO membership is an important task for Georgia, the primary goal is peaceful reunification, Baramidze said.
"Being under the NATO umbrella will ensure our country's security, peaceful and stable development, as well as unification," he said, adding that he expects from Moscow a more constructive approach toward Tbilisi.
Military actions were launched in the unrecognized republic of South Ossetia in August 2008. Georgian troops entered Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia and later Russian troops occupied the city and drove the Georgian military back to Georgia. Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on Aug. 26 and established diplomatic relations with them on Sept. 9, 2008.Georgia's autonomous regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia unilaterally declared independence from Georgia after the August 2008 war.