NATO Discusses Future With Georgia As Russia Threatens To Annex Breakaway Regions

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg met with Georgian officials on Monday in Tbilisi, the capital city, to talk about expanding the alliance's collaboration with the country and the route to future NATO membership.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and President Salome Zourabichvili of Georgia, Stoltenberg demanded that Russia revoke its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. He also stated that elections that Russia is conducting in the occupied regions of Georgia and Ukraine are "completely illegal," according to a statement released by NATO.

Last year, the deputy of Russian security council and ex-president Dmitry Medvedev stated that Moscow may annex Georgian breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Over a course of a single year, NATO has recently added Finland and Sweden – both countries at risk of Russian aggression – among its member states

Georgian leaders have stated on numerous occasions that they are dedicated to joining the military alliance headed by the United States in order to protect the nation's territorial integrity.