TBILISI \u2014 Georgia’s acting prime minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday appointed a staunchly pro-Western politician as his new defense minister in a move aimed at boosting the country’s efforts to join NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Underscoring Georgia’s strong commitment to Euro-Atlantic and European integration, the Prime Minister has nominated as Minister of Defence Mrs Tinatin Khidasheli,” the Government Chancellery said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khidasheli, who served as a chair of the parliamentary committee for European integration, is a “respected and trusted figure in Washington and European capitals,” Garibashvili told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I am absolutely certain that she will succeed in leading Georgia’s relationship with Western institutions to the next level,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NATO leaders agreed in 2008 that Tbilisi could join the military bloc at an unspecified future date but decided against giving Georgia a formal pre-membership status under pressure from Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year NATO offered Tbilisi a “substantive package” aimed at “bringing Georgia closer to NATO.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Georgia’s bid to join NATO and the European Union infuriated its former imperial master Russia, which bitterly opposes the alliance’s expansion into former Soviet republics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2008, Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war over the Kremlin-backed separatist region of South Ossetia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia’s then-president Dmitry Medvedev said in 2011 the war prevented NATO’s expansion further into the post-Soviet space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Garibashvili’s government currently serves on an interim basis after a seventh minister quit Wednesday his 20-member Georgian Dream coalition cabinet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sports minister’s resignation spelled the end of the cabinet, as replacing one-third of its members requires the entire government to dissolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Giorgi Margvelashvili has a week to formally submit the lineup of his new government to parliament for approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the legislature is dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream coalition led by Garibashvili, it is expected to back Garibashvili’s choice of ministers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Georgian Dream, assembled by former prime minister and billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, came to power in October 2012, ending a decade-long rule by fervently pro-Western former president Mikheil Saakashvili and his UNM party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ivanishvili stepped down in November 2013 to make way for his longtime ally Garibashvili, but is widely believed to still call the shots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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