Europe News

Poland, Baltics call for Georgian NATO membership

Aug 13, 2008, 13:57 GMT

Warsaw - Poland's President Lech Kaczynski and his Baltic counterparts called for a NATO action plan for Georgia on Wednesday, saying membership is the only way to prevent future 'aggression and occupation' after the recent Russia-Georgia conflict.

The leaders were also critical of a recent French peace proposal for Moscow and Tbilisi, saying it was missing a point on respecting Georgia's 'territorial integrity.'

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus outlined a declaration signed along with his counterparts in Poland, Estonia and Latvia during a press conference in Warsaw.

The declaration called for an immediate ceasefire and end of further occupation, support for Georgia's territorial integrity, an international peacekeeping force under the EU and humanitarian aid.

The statement, which was first announced on Saturday, also called on the EU and NATO to 'take the initiative and stand up against the spread of imperialist and revisionist policy in the East of Europe.'

On the initiative of Poland's Kaczynski, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Lithuania's Adamkus, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis travelled to Tbilisi on Tuesday to offer their support for Georgia.