NATO Reiterates Backing for Georgia

NATO's chief and envoys of member states assured Georgia of the alliance's support for the Caucasus nation on Monday after its latest hostilities with Russia, but there was no sign Georgia is on a faster track toward joining the alliance.

Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is leading a large NATO delegation that included ambassadors of all 26 member states on a two-day visit to Georgia, which hopes for approval of a Membership Action Plan that will set in motion formal talks to join the alliance.

The new NATO-Georgian Commission, set up by the alliance to oversee Tbilisi's membership bid and convening for the first time on Monday, discussed "the situation in Georgia and its implications for Euro-Atlantic security," a joint statement issued after the meeting said.

"Allied Ambassadors reaffirmed support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the statement said, adding they also discussed with the Georgian side "measures of concrete support" for the country.

The NATO officials called for "swift, complete, and good faith" implementation of a ceasefire agreement brokered by the European Union following a partial pullout of Russian troops in western Georgia.

Last month, Russian forces evicted Georgian troops which moved into South Ossetia, a breakaway province of Georgia, in a bid to retake control of the region. The alliance has deplored "Russia's disproportionate use of force."

The NATO officials will also visit a number of sites struck by Russian forces.

In Brussels, foreign ministers of the European Union approved a mission of 200 observers to Georgia, due to be in place by Oct. 1.

The observers will be deployed in Russian-declared buffer zones around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, a second breakaway region, to monitor the pullout of Russian troops from the zones by Oct. 10.

The European bloc is seeking to eventually send the mission to the two regions to replace Russian peacekeepers, a plan Moscow opposes.

Russia, which recognized both regions as independent states after the conflict with Tbilisi, has announced plans to keep a total of 7,600 troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The NATO alliance has assured Georgian leaders that their country will eventually become a member, albeit without saying exactly when that will happen.

Some European NATO members have balked at offering something concrete for fear of further infuriating Russia as Moscow has been watching warily NATO's expansion to incorporate some eastern European and Baltic states in recent years.

Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze hoped the NATO-Georgian Commission will "help accelerate Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration process," the joint statement said.

But that statement offered no prospect of quicker accession beyond a commitment by NATO to continue assisting Georgia in its democratic development and reforms.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the commission, de Hoop Scheffer said: "Despite the difficult situation, we expect Georgia to firmly stay on the course of democracy and reform. Dedication to these fundamental values remains essential for Georgia on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration."

President Mikheil Saakashvili, addressing the same meeting, said he will soon announce "another set of new democratic changes and reforms."