[5] The current Georgia–NATO relations occur in the framework of the Substantial NATO–Georgia Package (SNGP), a set of measures at the strategic, tactical and operational levels launched in 2014.

The package includes a Defence Institution Building School, NATO–Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre and Logistics Facility, the facilitation of multi-national and regional military drills, and other measures.

[6] Georgia has sought to join NATO, which it views as a guarantee of stability to the region by acting as a counterweight to Russia, which it considers a dangerous neighbor.

[15] In 2002, at the NATO summit in Prague, President Eduard Shevardnadze, for the first time, officially requested invitation to join NATO: [16] [...] I can also assure you that perhaps the only issue in the recent years against which no reasonable argument has ever been suggested is the Georgian public's perspective on the future of the country's national security which is widely seen in the context of the country's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.

I am happy that at the Summit of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council I can declare that Georgia is determined to be a full member of NATO and is resolved to work hard to prepare for this historic mission.

[17] The 2003 Rose Revolution replaced Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze with Mikheil Saakashvili, who promoted closer ties with western institutions including NATO.

[citation needed] On 14 February 2005 Georgia and NATO signed an agreement on the appointment of Partnership for Peace (PfP) liaison officer.

[18] In September 2006, Georgia became the second country to be offered the "Intensified Dialogue" status, following a rapid change in foreign policy under President Mikhail Saakashvili,[19] and what NATO perceived as a demonstration of military readiness during the 2006 Kodori crisis.

The alliance decided not to offer Georgia a MAP due to opposition from several countries, led by France and Germany, who feared the decision would anger Russia.

[30] German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during the meeting with Russian president after the signing of a ceasefire agreement that the 2008 promise NATO made to Georgia in Bucharest was still standing.

However, she did not indicate a time frame, nor did she retract the earlier insistence of Germany and France that Georgia must resolve its internal problems prior to any NATO membership.

[33] On April 4, 2009, the NATO heads of state released a joint statement after the Strasbourg–Kehl summit, pledging to maximise their advice, assistance and support for Georgia's and Ukraine's reform efforts.

The statement said that Russia has not completely complied with its commitments undertaken under the August 12 and September 8 ceasefire accords and called for Moscow to reverse its recognition of Georgia's breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

[34] On 21 November 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev while addressing soldiers in Vladikavkaz near the Georgian border stated that the 2008 invasion had prevented any further NATO enlargement into the former Soviet sphere.

Analysts confirmed this as a sign that NATO members were becoming skeptical about further Eastern expansion due to worries about Russian retaliation to these new security guarantees so close to is borders.

[40] In September 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted as saying that if NATO accepts Georgian membership with the article on collective defence covering only Tbilisi-administered territory (i.e., excluding the two Georgian territories Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (aka South Ossetia), both of which are currently occupied by Russia), "we will not start a war, but such conduct will undermine our relations with NATO and with countries who are eager to enter the alliance.