New Prime Minister of Georgia is in Brussels on his first official visit. Negotiations between NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Mamuka Bakhtadze lasted for 45 minutes. After the meeting, the sides held a joint press conference.

The questioned was asked about the Russian president"s statement, Vladimir Putin said that if Georgia or Ukraine join NATO, Russia"s reaction would be "extremely negative".

According to Stoltenberg, Russia has no right to decide what its neighboring countries want to do.

The Alliance Secretary General welcomes the fact that 29 NATO member states have confirmed that Georgia will become a member of the alliance.

"Russia has no right to decide what its neighbors want to do. Georgia is a sovereign and independent country and has the right to choose its own way. . It is totally unacceptable to us when one neighbor tells another neighbor, what it can or can not do, because this is an old idea about the re-emergence of spheres of influence, where large countries decide, what children should do. My homeland Norway is also a small country and when joining NATO, would never let the Soviet Union have any right to object to joining the alliance. That"s exactly the situation today. Georgia is also a small, sovereign and free country that has the right to choose its own way. By doing so it neither provokes Russia nor threatens it. The reality is that the 29 allies and the aspirant country-Georgia will decide when to join NATO. I welcome the fact that 29 NATO member states have reaffirmed at the summit that Georgia will become a member of the alliance and that allies will assist it on the path to membership and will provide practical and political support, "Jens Stoltenberg said.