TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — NATO's chief urged Moscow on Friday to fully observe its commitments under a peace deal that ended a 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, but he also voiced hope for stronger ties between the alliance and Russia.
NATO’s Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on a visit to Georgia that the military alliance respects Georgia’s territorial integrity and supports its aspirations to become a member, but he wouldn’t say when the ex-Soviet nation might join.
The peace deal brokered by the European Union ended the brief war in which Russian troops drove Georgian forces out of the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which Russia has since recognized as independent states.
Georgia and European observers have said Russia has not met an obligation to withdraw its forces to positions held before the August 2008 conflict. Russia also has refused to let EU monitors enter Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
"We insist on full respect for Georgia’s territorial integrity, we pursue a non-recognition policy as regards Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and we call on Russia to fulfill the commitment according to the six-point agreement from 2008," Rasmussen said at a news conference after his talks with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Rasmussen also praised Georgia’s contribution to the alliance’s action in Afghanistan, where four Georgian soldiers were killed Thursday. "I highly appreciate your dedication to our common security," he said on a visit to the Georgian Defense Ministry.
Rasmussen said the alliance and Georgia has developed a roadmap for reforms of the Georgian military following a 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest that promised that the ex-Soviet nation would join the alliance once it meets membership criteria.
Saakashvili reaffirmed Friday that joining NATO has remained a top priority for his government.
At the same time, Rasmussen said Friday that NATO hopes to improve relations with Russia, leading hopefully to a "true strategic partnership."
Moscow’s relations with NATO, frozen in the wake of the 2008 war with Georgia, have improved recently as Russia has provided supply corridors for NATO troops in Afghanian.
