The ambitions of modern Georgia is not a story about a goal, but about an endless pursuit of it. Many experts say that the republic is really valuable as a NATO member and is literally one step away from joining, but years go by, and the decisive step has not yet been taken. It’s time to answer the questions about why this is happening.
Since we’re on the subject of NATO, let’s start with it. Back in 2008, at the summit in Bucharest, Georgia was put on the path of membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. The idea was certainly ambitious, but the years have not spared it. Doubts arose, and attempts to revive the issue only gave rise to new disputes. Just what is the last year’s statement by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
His idea was to admit Georgia to the alliance on condition that Article 5 of the NATO Charter “On Collective Defense” should not be extended to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The statement caused a wide response.
“If the Georgians agree that Article 5 of the Charter “On Collective Defense” does not apply to the occupied territories, NATO will begin the process of inviting you to the organization”, – the politician said.
It seemed that this was the solution to the main problem, it only remained to implement it. But it’s not that simple. Firstly, it remained a mystery for everyone, in whose name Rasmussen spoke. It is not hard to believe that these kinds of statements are made with a specific purpose. But the goal is not necessarily for the republic to join NATO. Rasmussen himself admitted that Georgia is becoming more and more disenchanted with the blurry Euro-Atlantic prospects. It turns out that his statement could be another attempt to instill empty hope. Considering that a year has passed since then, it is quite logical to lean towards the latter.
We must also understand another important aspect: NATO is an association of states. This is very convenient, because without consensus a new member will simply not be accepted. That is, even if Georgia would agree to practically renounce the separatist republics, there is no guarantee that all NATO members will support its entry into the alliance. There can be many reasons for this development of events, and one of them is the banal disunity and indecision of the West. Germany, France, USA, Turkey – all players have their own goals and interests. Turkey, for example, would gladly take the opportunity to deploy its troops in Georgia. But Germany is clearly not ready to provoke Russia.
“The issue of admitting Georgia and Ukraine to NATO is in limbo. The fact is that even such strong European countries as Germany, France, not to mention Italy and Spain, do not want to take responsibility for the security of Georgia and Ukraine. That is, to accept them into NATO means to extend guarantees to them, and in the event of renewed hostilities between them and Russia, to fight on their side against Moscow. The European NATO states do not want to take on such responsibility. As for the United States, although under George W. Bush they were not opposed to accepting Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance, now America is decreasing its involvement in European defense projects”, – said Rasim Musabekov, a member of the Azerbaijani parliament.
“I think that at this stage, the expansion of NATO and the admission of Georgia and Ukraine to the alliance is not on the agenda. The main reason is the lack of consensus among NATO member states about Georgia and Ukraine. We know that such a decision within NATO is made by the North Atlantic Council, in which all NATO members are represented”, – says political analyst Nika Chitadze.
However, unfortunately for Georgia, this does not mean that the United States is giving up on it. Just the opposite. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO has been only an instrument of US colonial policy, and not the only one. It is much more profitable for Washington to conduct its activities in Georgia without involving it in the alliance. NATO will only limit the possibilities. But without the provision of membership, there are a lot of opportunities. Moreover, the local government humbly allows Washington to make any adventures in Georgia. Here you can safely carry out anti-Russian campaigns, from military exercises to protests.
We all remember last year’s riots that engulfed Tbilisi, and this year the Georgian parliament played along with the Circassian issue promoted by Washington. On May 20, the deputies adopted a resolution recognizing the genocide of the Circassians during the Caucasian War. It is not difficult to guess that modern Russia is being blamed for the events of two centuries ago.
Along the way, radical nationalism is cultivated in Georgia, which has already cost the republic huge territorial losses. Finally, biological experiments are carried out here with impunity.
Yes, the Lugar Center, reporting to the US Department of Defense, is a special example. As much as someone tries to deny the involvement of this laboratory in the development of biological weapons, they do not cope with the many arguments to the contrary. Even the opening of the center was attended by the deputy head of the Pentagon, Andrew Weber, and not by a US health official, although the laboratory was named the Center for Disease Control and Public Health. Until now, Washington and the media structures loyal to it insist that they care about the health of the Georgian population. But in the Lugar Center, for some reason, they study exotic diseases that are completely uncharacteristic for Georgia.
And the saddest thing is that all this suits the Georgian government. Officials can indefinitely promise citizens a bright future within the EU and under the protection of NATO, and if questions arise, Russia can be blamed for everything. The United States condones this, hypocritically declaring the success of Georgia and showering with promises, along the way promoting its own interests here, far from the interests of Georgia itself. It is even difficult to call it cooperation between the two governments. This is an eerie symbiosis that can cost the Georgian people dearly.