The Washington Times published the article of Giorgi Gakharia with the headline “Georgia deserves membership in NATO”.

As the Prime Minister writes, Russia continues to oppose full NATO membership for Georgia and now is “the time for NATO to answer our call for membership”.

Alluding to the growing need for Black Sea security and a united NATO front to address the challenges, at the recent Davos gathering, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, called for immediate, full NATO membership for Georgia. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s and NATO’s commitment to Black Sea security during his recent visit to Ukraine. Turkey has also long understood that the Black Sea is the geopolitical center of the region’s strategic context.

Russia continues to oppose full NATO membership for Georgia. Now is the time for NATO to answer our call for membership. Georgia has been promised full membership repeatedly by NATO’s leadership, and we remain hopeful that challenges to our NATO accession will be overcome — and soon. More Georgia in NATO and more NATO in Georgia will strengthen Black Sea and Western security and also strengthen Georgia’s democracy and growing economy.

In the meantime, Georgia will continue to work closely with the United States and other NATO members to strengthen Black Sea security. In the last few years, this has meant providing well-trained troops for NATO operations, along with expansion of NATO and U.S. defense activities, including new installations and frequent joint military exercises, on the territory of Georgia. We seek greater expansion of joint-exercises, more port calls and further development of our maritime infrastructure to bolster Black Sea security”, - wrote the Head of the Government of Georgia.