The way how May 30 local elections were held in Georgia will have “a positive impact” on NATO-Georgia relations, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO secretary general, said while speaking at a session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Riga on June 1.

He made the remarks in response to a question asked by a Georgian lawmaker from the ruling party, Giorgi Kandelaki, during the question and answer session. 

“We appreciate that elections took place in a way, which has been recognized as free and fair by the international community. You asked me which impact these elections will have on Georgia’s relationship with NATO. Of course the positive impact. But I have also to say, we had expected these elections to take place in a way which could be considered as free and fair. It is of course an important element in Georgia’s fulfillment of the requirement within NATO-Georgia Commission and the Annual National Programme [a document, laying out the country’s reform targets],” Rasmussen said.