NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has completed his visit to the United States and delivered a public talk at the Heritage Foundation.

Jens Stoltenberg replied to the question of Courier and spoke about Georgia"s expansion and Georgia"s accession as well as about the importance of NATO-Georgia partnership.

"We do not recognize the presence of Russian troops in its territory. At the Brussels summit NATO leaders have reiterated that Georgia will become a NATO member. We assist Georgia to pursue reforms, have our political and practical support. We have opened the Training and Assessment Center to assist in the reform of defense and security institutions. Georgia has achieved progress that is welcome. We will continue to support the integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, including membership. We are grateful for what Georgia is doing for NATO ... So, Georgia is important for NATO, NATO is important for Georgia. We continue to strengthen our partnership, "said Jens Stoltenberg.

During the public talk, NATO Secretary General also talked about disagreements between US and European allies, including defense spending. Stoltenger noted that Germany was an important contributor to the global and alliance space. He also emphasized the existence of American bases in Europe.

NATO Secretary General was also asked about Turkey"s decision to buy Russian air defense systems. He said that the issue is a challenge and he welcomed dialogue between Ankara and Washington.