President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili addressed the head of the government, members of the cabinet, the parliamentary speaker and the Chief of General Staff at a security council meeting last night.

One of the major topics on the agenda was to discuss preparation works for the upcoming NATO summit to be held on July 11-12 in Brussels.

President Margvelashvili said he expects proper recognition of Georgia’s progress and an "important step forward” on the way towards NATO membership at the upcoming summit.

"Georgia will be represented at both high level events held with the participation of non-member countries - Resolute Support mission and Regional Security meetings, which is an unprecedented achievement. The leaders of the NATO member countries will be discussing Georgia’s security. We request membership of NATO and any adequate step that would quicken this process. The logic behind the request is that NATO, as well as the region, will be more secure if Georgia becomes an alliance member,” President Margvelashvili said adding that Georgia has far more supporters on its way towards NATO than other aspirant countries did.

Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze has also expressed his hope that the partner countries are going to praise the progress made by Georgia at the summit.

"Our expectations are very positive. I think the final agenda clearly expresses our progress made by our country through the reforms carried out during the last few years. I am sure our partner countries will appreciate it,” PM Bakhtadze added.

Supportive statements regarding Georgia’s aspirations towards NATO have been made by several partner countries so far including US, Germany, and Estonia.

Moreover, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has appealed to Alliance leaders to continue providing strong political and practical support to Georgia in the process of NATO integration and to advance the further political dimension of the country’s NATO membership process.