Nato's chief promised deeper ties with Georgia on Monday as Brussels pledged half a billion euros to help the Western ally rebuild following last month's devastating conflict with Russia.
The commitment from Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer came at the start of a two-day tour of the country that has angered Russia, which went to war with Georgia on August 8 over the breakaway province of South Ossetia.
Russia hates the idea of Nato expansion into ex-Soviet territory, Georgia and Ukraine in particular, and has been accused of using the five-day conflict with Georgia to send out exactly that message.
De Hoop Scheffer said the setting up of a new Nato-Georgia commission would allow "in-depth discussions on the regional security situation and address our wish to further enhance the Nato-Georgia relationship."
Alongside him, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili indicated the commission would "accelerate" Georgia's integration into Nato.
De Hoop Scheffer and ambassadors of all 26 Nato nations were greeted at the steps of their plane by an honour guard of soldiers with Georgian flags flying from their bayonets.
While it remains unclear how exactly last month's conflict with Russia will play out on Tbilisi's Nato ambitions, the two-day trip is seen as a massive show of support for a key Western ally.
Some Nato members are loathe to antagonise a resurgent Russia without good cause and it is highly doubtful Georgia will be awarded a hoped-for "membership action plan" (MAP) in December -- this would make it an official candidate.
Before leaving Brussels, the Nato chief took aim at the European Union-brokered ceasefire that ended the conflict in Georgia, saying it was "difficult to swallow" because it made too many concessions to Russia.
"The option of keeping Russian forces in South Ossetia and Abkhazia (a second Georgian rebel region) is not acceptable," De Hoop Scheffer said in comments to London's Financial Times newspaper.
In Brussels, EU foreign ministers gave the green light to a 200-strong observer team that will be deployed by October 1 to monitor the Russian withdrawal.
The European Commission also announced aid worth 712 million dollars to help those displaced by the five-day war and to allow Georgia to rebuild its shattered economy and infrastructure.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has pledged to pull all his troops out of Georgia within 10 days of the deployment of the EU monitors, although 7,600 soldiers will remain in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.