NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Tuesday that the alliance will continue to expand and the road to membership is "wide open" for Georgia.

The NATO secretary-general renewed his support for Georgia's bid to join the military bloc in a speech to students at Tbilisi State University on the second day of his visit to the Caucasus nation, but he offered no timetable for Georgia's NATO membership.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer speaks at Tbilisi State University September 16, 2008. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

 

"The process of NATO enlargement will continue, with due caution, but also with a clear purpose – to help create a stable, undivided Europe," de Hoop Scheffer told the students.

"And while the events of last month may have been a setback, the road to NATO is still wide open for Georgia," he said.

The transatlantic military bloc has assured Georgian leaders that their country will eventually join, 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 it has been warily watching NATO's expansion to incorporate some eastern European and Baltic states in recent years.

De Hoop Scheffer made no secret of the divisions within the alliance over admitting Georgia.

"While all 26 NATO allies agree that Georgia will one day be a member of the alliance, there are different views on how fast Georgia should be admitted into our Membership Action Plan," he said.

NATO has deplored "Russia's disproportionate use of force" after its forces evicted Georgian troops which moved into breakaway South Ossetia in a bid to retake the region last month, but de Hoop Scheffer said NATO is not to cut ties with Russia altogether.

"NATO will continue to stand by Georgia – but neither will we close our doors to Russia. That would not be the right thing to do, nor would it be in our interest," he said.

In a show of solidarity with Georgia, de Hoop Scheffer is leading a large NATO delegation that included ambassadors of all 26 member states. On Tuesday, the delegation visited the city of Gori, which was targeted by Russian forces during last month's hostilities and is now home to a refuge camp for those displaced.

Georgia is waiting for approval of the Membership Action Plan, which will set in motion formal talks to join the alliance. But the alliance has urged Tbilisi to continue with its reforms to meet NATO's standards for membership.

NATO foreign ministers are due to meet in December to discuss the launch of the plan.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, speaking just hours after de Hoop Scheffer delivered his speech, admitted his country still has much to do before it will be accepted into the alliance.

"We understand there is a long way towards NATO, but we clearly see this road and we will pass through this road," he said in his state of the nation address in the parliament, broadcast live on national television.

Saakashvili announced a basket of reforms in his address, including giving more powers to the parliament and reforming the judiciary.

(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2008)