Georgian parliament speaker notes lack of progress on path to NATO

TBILISI. July 10 (Interfax) - Joining NATO is a key foreign policy priority for Georgia, yet no progress has been made in this area over the past 20 years, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said.

"It's like we are hitting a glass door, as there are no arguments against Georgia's NATO membership left," Papuashvili said in an open letter ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius.

Countries, which are skeptical about Georgia's admission to NATO, have said that there is no democracy or commitment to the values or policies of the Euro-Atlantic family in Georgia, and that there are flaws in its defense, he said.

"We have overcome all of the skeptics' arguments over the past decade, which is confirmed by the international community," Papuashvili said. There is still one argument that Georgia's admission to NATO might disrupt regional security, he added.

At this stage, Georgia's admission to NATO is opposed by certain East European countries, "which support the Georgian opposition," Papuashvili said. "Georgia's membership of NATO should be above party politics," he said.