ROBERT SIMMONS: "GEORGIA SHOULD NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA BEFORE JOINING NATO"

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 26 2007

"As you know, Armenia doesn’t have an intention to join NATO. The
Alliance has numerously stated that participation in the IPAP doesn’t
imply accession to the organization," NATO’s Special Representative
for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Mr. Robert Simmons said in an
interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"The countries, which are planning to join NATO, such as Ukraine
and Georgia, will have a different scheme. As for Georgia, it should
normalize relations with the neighbor states, including Russia. We
do not intend to get involved into confrontation. Our tasks are
different. The Alliance tends to enlargement. However, accession is a
long process. We are holding intensified dialogue with Georgia. The
Alliance intends to extend invitations to countries that meet NATO
standards to join NATO at the next Summit, in 2008," he said.

"As regards Azerbaijan, the state has not announced intention to join
NATO so far," Mr. Simmons added.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress