TBILISI. Nov 19 (Interfax-AVN) - Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze will officially announce Georgia's desire to join NATO at the alliance's summit in Prague on Thursday and Friday, spokesman for the Georgian Foreign Ministry Kakha Sikharulidze told Interfax.
"In a not very lengthy speech, the president will also say that Georgia has already set up an ad hoc state commission that has drafted a program on Georgia's integration into Euro-Atlantic structures," the diplomat said.
"In his speech at the NATO summit, Eduard Shevardnadze will claim that Georgia, as a European state, wishes to be included in Europe's security structures," Sikharulidze said.
Touching on the possibility of Georgia's allotting its territory for the deployment of NATO troops, Sikharulidze noted this issue will become relevant only after Georgia becomes a full NATO member. "If Georgia becomes a full member of NATO, it will follow procedures and obligations imposed by membership in the alliance," he said.
Talking about the presence of Russian military bases on Georgia territory, the diplomat noted, "Debates on this theme have in fact been closed, and an agreement on this was reached with our Russian friends back in 1999, when a decision was made during an OSCE summit in Istanbul on closing down all Russian military bases on Georgian territory," he said.
"Neither Georgia nor Russia need the presence of Russian military bases on Georgian territory," he said.