| The head of NATO's Department of Defense Policy and Planning, Frank Boland, will lead the Alliance mission, which on February 19-23 will inspect Georgia's implementation of the Individual Dialogue program, which began in the fall of 2006 and is one of the steps to membership in the bloc. This was reported to Vremya Novostey by the official representative of the Georgian Ministry of Defense Nana Intskirveli. At the end of this year or early next, Georgia expects to move to the next stage of integration - the “NATO Accession Action Plan”. The country's leaders are encouraged by the statement of NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer, who at a security conference in Munich a week ago admitted the possibility of Georgia joining the Alliance in 2009. The report of NATO evaluators will be made public in mid-March. In early February, Gallup, at the request of the Georgian side, conducted a public opinion poll and found that 83% of the Georgian population was in favor of joining NATO. Respondents believe that this will make it easier to ensure the territorial integrity and security of the country. 79% of respondents are against the placement of foreign military bases in the country. Mikhail VIGNANSKY, Tbilisi
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