NATO-Georgia Relations Deteriorating, Conflict Expert Says

NATO-Georgia relations are not evolving but deteriorating, said Paata Zakareishvili, a former minister for reintegration and conflict expert, in an interview with Alik Media regarding the annual report on the progress of the Georgian government’s program.

According to Zakareishvili, it is regrettable that the Georgian side discusses the development of NATO-Georgia cooperation rather than NATO itself. He emphasized that if NATO were to provide such an assessment, it would be taken more seriously; however, at the highest levels of NATO, it is stated that Georgia is moving away from Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

The conflict expert highlighted that NATO and the European Union are dissatisfied with Georgia because they see that, aside from words, there are no concrete actions. “Even recently, former commander of U.S. ground forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, stated that Georgia does not want to join NATO. If Hodges is saying this, it means that nothing is being done at the governmental level towards NATO membership,” Zakareishvili noted.

Given all this, the conflict expert believes it can be stated that the Georgian government's report is false and misleading. Gela Vasadze, an expert at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center, told Alik Media that the authorities are indeed not opposed to joining NATO, but the steps taken towards membership are not commensurate with that desire.

“They need to understand that the West has given us an opportunity; therefore, we should not 'turn the wheel' towards Russia. These two directions are incompatible,” Vasadze pointed out.

By the way, the annual report on the progress of the Georgian government’s program, which covers the period from June 2022 to May 2023, states that NATO-Georgia cooperation was developing dynamically. According to the report, consultations and high-level meetings have been held in Tbilisi, Brussels, and the capitals of NATO member states to facilitate Georgia's accession to NATO. During the reporting period, efficient work was carried out within the framework of the NATO-Georgia Commission, and eight meetings of the NATO-Georgia Commission took place at NATO headquarters during the same period.