Admiral Michael Mullen, speaking at a press conference in Ankara where he met Turkish military and civilian officials, said Georgia was "proceeding down a path to become a member" of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff added, however, that "in terms of its path versus other countries that have become members, that can be a very long path."

Mullen added: "Should Georgia become a member of NATO, NATO is committed to collective defence."

During its summit in Romania in April, NATO decided to postpone the membership process of the Ukraine and Georgia. Russia vehemently opposes the accession of the two former Soviet republics to the military alliance.

Mullen's comments came as NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, during a visit to Tbilisi, slammed Russia on Monday for using "indiscriminate" military assault into Georgia last month.

De Hoop Scheffer also welcomed the launch of a new NATO-Georgia commission, saying it would "function to enhance and accelerate our cooperation and integration."

But he stressed that further democratic reforms were essential by Georgia in order for it to meet NATO standards and achieve its goal of membership.

Relations between Russia and NATO and the West have plummeted to lows rarely seen since the Cold War after Moscow ordered its military deep into Georgia last month.

The move was ordered to repel a Georgian attack on South Ossetia, but Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili claims Russia was about to invade anyway.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pledged on September 8 to pull all Russian troops out of Georgia -- apart from the disputed rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- by October 10 as part of an EU-brokered peace deal.

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