Brussels - Georgia's conflict with Russia in its breakaway regions should not prevent the country from moving towards NATO membership, the United States ambassador to NATO said Wednesday.
"If Russia continues to keep these conflicts frozen (unresolved), and continues to prevent Georgia from fully exercising its territorial integrity ... should Georgia be disallowed when it comes to being invited to join NATO just because of that?" US Ambassador Kurt Volker said.
"We can't give Russia that veto over Georgia's aspirations," he said in an exclusive interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The ambassador, however, stressed that any decision on Georgia's membership aspirations should be a joint NATO decision.