Minister Linkevičius: NATO invitation for Montenegro is also signal to Georgia

“I believe this to be a signal to Georgia. Although, obviously, Georgia regards this as a sign of under-appreciation of its progress, and I think it is right. I reckon it has truly deserved to be invited. But then again, it is a political decision, requiring political agreement among all members of the Alliance. But there is no agreement today, the same was true in our case to the very last moment – before 2002, everyone said we would never become NATO members. Now we are saying the same to Georgians – implement reforms, continue to strive towards your objective and the moment will come,” Linkevičius told the radio Žinių Radijas on Thursday.

On Wednesday, NATO invited Montenegro to launch membership negotiations. Although the negotiation deadline has not been set, it is thought the process will be prompt and the country will join NATO within a year and a half or two years.