Georgia: NATO's Gottemoeller says Georgia has 'some hard work to do' before joining

NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller thanked Georgia for its "long-standing contributions" to NATO in Tbilisi, Monday, while noting that the country still has to improve its defence capabilities and make necessary reforms to gain NATO membership.
Giving a keynote speech to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi, Gottemoeller stressed that NATO appreciates Georgia's "long-standing contribution to the alliance," including the country's deployment of its troops in Afghanistan.
The NATO deputy secretary general noted that Georgia, which she called an "aspiring country," would have to boost its defence capabilities and implement institutional reforms before it could become a full member of the alliance. She said, "Georgia still will have some continuing hard work to do to in terms of bringing the forces to a certain level of training and to a certain level of institutional structure."
Gottemoeller said she would not make predictions in terms of a time scale; however, she stated that she saw “momentum and I see the trajectory. And they are both in a positive direction."
Following the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Gottemoeller is scheduled to meet with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidzem and Defence Minister Levan Izoria, among others.