10/12/2010 13:17
Georgia pressing US for NATO membership prospectus
Former Soviet republic of Georgia wants the United States to outline the steps necessary for it to join NATO.
Deputy Prime Minister Georgy Baramidze was raising the issue in Washington this week with the Obama administration. He said in an interview with The Associated Press that Georgia wants a "road map" to membership, RBK.ru reports.
The United States and other NATO members have said that Georgia should eventually join NATO. But Russia has opposed the bid, and the issue of membership has appeared stalled since the brief Russia-Georgia war in 2008.
Pointing to Georgia's close cooperation with the military alliance and large contribution to its mission in Afghanistan, Baramidze said Georgia already behaves as if it were a member of NATO.