NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, called President Saakashvili and Georgian Dream leader Bidzina Ivanishvili on October 12 and “congratulated both leaders, together with the Georgian people, for completing free, competitive and peaceful parliamentary elections,” NATO said in a press release.

It said that the Secretary General also congratulated Bidzina Ivanishvili and his coalition “for their success in the elections” and called on both leaders to work to together to further consolidate democratic reforms.

“This is a historic moment in the democratic development of your country,” the Secretary General said. “Now it is important for all sides to come together to further consolidate democracy and the rule of law.” 

He reiterated that NATO remained ready to further assist Georgia in defence and security sector reforms and that the Alliance was looking forward to making “the close partnership with Georgia even stronger.”

Rasmussen also expressed his condolences for a recent death of a Georgian officer in Afghanistan and conveyed NATO's “strong appreciation for Georgia's steadfast commitment to Afghanistan.”