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Georgia, U.S. Sign Charter On Strategic Partnership

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  • Georgia, U.S. Sign Charter On Strategic Partnership

    GEORGIA, U.S. SIGN CHARTER ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

    PanARMENIAN.Net
    12.01.2009 16:36 GMT+04:00

    The United States and Georgia signed a bilateral charter on strategic
    partnership aimed at increasing cooperation in defense, trade, energy
    and other areas. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the deal
    should advance Georgia's bid for membership in NATO and other
    western structures.

    State Department officials stress that the charter is a not a mutual
    defense treaty, but they say it is a highly-visible sign of American
    support for the Caucuses state in the aftermath of its conflict with
    Russia last August.

    The agreement provides a road map for cooperation between the two
    countries across the spectrum of bilateral relations, including
    U.S. assistance to Georgia's military to help that country qualify
    for NATO membership.

    The charter says that a strong, independent, sovereign and democratic
    Georgia, capable of responsible self-defense, contributes to the
    security and prosperity not only of all Georgians, but of a Europe
    whole, free and at peace.

    An increasingly democratic Georgia can unleash the full creative
    potential of its industrious citizens, and thereby catalyze prosperity
    throughout the region and beyond, it says.

    The United States encourages efforts by Georgia to deepen its
    political, economic, security, and social ties with other nations of
    the Euroatlantic community. The partners declare that their shared goal
    is the full integration of Georgia into European and transatlantic
    political, economic, security, and defense institutions as Georgia
    meets the necessary standards, the charter says.

    At the signing ceremony with Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze,
    Secretary of State Rice reaffirmed U.S. support for the country's
    territorial integrity.

    "The United States supports, and will always support Georgia's
    sovereignty and its territorial integrity, as well as its Euro-Atlantic
    aspirations and its integration into the institutions of the
    Euro-Atlantic," she said. "The pace of Georgia's integration with
    NATO should depend on the desires of Georgians themselves, and on
    Georgia's ability to meet NATO standards," Rice said, VOA reports.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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