Georgia teaches Ukraine a lesson: NATO will not help you
Georgian politicians are beginning to become disillusioned with NATO, against the backdrop of which the idea of Georgia’s non-aligned status is gaining popularity in the country, writes Kommersant.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at Telegram, Facebook, Classmates or In contact with
“The results of the Warsaw NATO summit in July this year became a cold shower for Georgians,” the publication notes. – There was no talk at all about any “associated partnership” with Georgia, which Deputy Secretary General, American diplomat Alexander Vershbow mentioned on the eve of the summit. The final communique does not mention the widely discussed proposal of the same Mr. Vershbow to create a “joint naval group” in the Black Sea according to the “28+2” formula with the participation of Georgia and Ukraine. In addition, Tbilisi was once again denied the provision of a “Membership Action Plan,” which is considered a mandatory step on the path to full membership in the alliance.”
In addition, the publication draws attention to the fact that the disappointment of Georgian politicians is reinforced by a number of other events:
“This includes the unexpected ban on the Georgian NRF company from participating in the prestigious NATO maneuvers Anakonda 2016 (the Georgian Ministry of Defense had to clumsily explain the refusal to participate in the exercises with a “baby skin rash discovered on two privates”), and the failure of the contract for the supply of the latest French air defense systems to the Georgian army and missile defense, and the scandal that erupted in 2015 in connection with “unsubstantiated and false” (according to Georgian Defense Minister Tinatin Khidasheli) accusations of sexual harassment of Georgian peacekeepers sent at the request of the EU to the Central African Republic. Finally, Barack Obama's much-received statement two years ago that Georgia "is not on the path to NATO."
At the same time, the newspaper’s interlocutors in Tbilisi regard signals about the alliance’s unwillingness to really get closer to Georgia for fear of angering Moscow as “an insult to Georgian soldiers and officers fighting in Afghanistan, where during the NATO operation 31 servicemen from Georgia were killed and about a hundred more were seriously injured.” .
“With disappointment in NATO’s ability to “settle” the problems of Georgia and Ukraine, forces advocating a “more balanced” foreign policy are gaining popularity in Tbilisi,” the publication continues. – Among them is the Democratic Movement “United Georgia” (UDEG) of ex-speaker of parliament Nino Burjanadze. DDEG participates in parliamentary elections under the slogan “Vote for non-aligned status.” According to Nino Burjanadze, only refusal to join NATO will allow Georgia to begin a “substantive dialogue with Russia.”
“Kommersant recalls that until 2008, Burjanadze was one of the most active supporters of joining the alliance, but changed her views after, in her words, “NATO did not provide us with any help at the decisive moment,” that is, during the five-day war .
“Times change, and we change with them,” the newspaper quotes Burjanadze as saying, countering accusations that she previously supported Georgia’s entry into NATO.
It is worth noting that even Ukrainian anti-Russian experts admit that the latter The NATO summit left Ukraine “alone with the enemy.”
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.