TBILISI. April 12 (Interfax) - NATO should apply its "open door" policy to Georgia, Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria told diplomats and the Georgian public at a meeting on Thursday.
"It is critical for NATO to continue the 'open door' policy with respect to Georgia, and the alliance's secretary general has said so multiple times. We are doing our best to become a fully-fledged member of NATO," Izoria said.
Georgia has been actively implementing an effective deterrence policy based on close military cooperation with NATO and the United States, he said.
"Today's Georgia meets NATO standards of a 2% GDP defense budget. More than 20% of its defense budget is spent on buying military hardware and weapons," the minister said.