Mikheil Saakashvili

What's Georgia Going To Get At The NATO Summit?

Jorge Benitez — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:48:08 -0600

From Joshua Kucera, the EurasiaNet: Georgia's prospects in NATO, after being more or less left for dead in the wake of the 2008 war with Russia, have lately appeared to be improving. NATO has recently changed its rhetoric on Georgia, for the first time calling it an "aspirant" along with several Balkan countries. And U.S. officials have said Georgia is making "significant progress" that should be recognized at the next NATO summit, in Chicago in May.

So what does this mean? Does Georgia have a shot at NATO membership after all? As a story on EurasiaNet's main page today explains, not really: President Obama, after his meeting with his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili, used the word "ultimately" to describe Georgia's entrance into NATO, which suggests he doesn't see it happening any time soon. And even if the White House were to again back Georgian NATO membership as strongly as the Bush administration did pre-August 2008, there would still be the matter of the big Western European countries who oppose Georgia's membership. So what to do?

The defense official quoted in the EurasiaNet piece had more thoughts on this (though there wasn't room in that piece). A Membership Action Plan, the holy grail for Georgia, is not a possibility. That subject won't even be discussed at the summit: remember, this will be in May of an election year. "It's about U.S. internal politics, so this summit needs to look good. We don't need a food fight like in '08, between us and the Germans, or the pro-Georgia camp vs. the camp that's not too keen on Georgia. We don't need that. So the whole Georgia issue isn't going to be raised," the official said. . . .

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, speaking to Russian journalists has weighed in on even this slight warming of ties between Tbilisi and Washington . . .

Medvedev made the remarks after one of the participants of the meeting told him with regret, that although after the August, 2008 war Russia managed to secure international “informal arms embargo” against Georgia, situation was now changing with Georgia “restarting to buy arms from around the world”; this participant of the meeting also said that there were speculations about a trade-off – Russia turning a blind eye on Georgia’s rearmament and in exchange securing Tbilisi’s go-ahead for Russia’s WTO accession.

Makes you wonder, though, what's being said behind closed doors. (photo: AP)

Obama supports Georgia 'ultimately' becoming a member of NATO

Jorge Benitez — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:20:51 -0600

From Barack Obama, the White House: On defense and security, I expressed my gratitude to the President for the extraordinary contributions that have been made by the Georgian military in Afghanistan. They have been one of the most dedicated contributors outside of NATO to the ISAF effort, and in fact have taken on some significant casualties as a consequence of those efforts.

We have talked about how we will continue to strengthen our defense cooperation, and there are a wide range of areas where we are working together. And I reaffirmed to the President and assured him that the United States will continue to support Georgia’s aspirations to ultimately become a member of NATO. (photo: Getty)

Georgia soon to surpass Australia as largest non-NATO troop contributor in Afghanistan

Jorge Benitez — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:45:21 -0600

From Civil Georgia: The Parliament approved on Tuesday President Saakashvili’s request to send one additional infantry battalion to Afghanistan on top of 936 Georgian soldiers who already serve as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

As a result, after sending one more battalion – that is 749 soldiers – Georgia will become the largest non-NATO contributor to ISAF with total of 1,685 troops. Currently Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor to the Afghan operation with 1,550 soldiers on the ground.

Georgia, whose troops operate without caveats, has lost total of ten soldiers in Afghanistan – all in the Helmand province. (photo: ISAF)

Russia says Georgia's entry to NATO could lead to war

Jorge Benitez — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:43:07 -0600

From RIA Novosti: Russia’s foreign minister has warned of a repetition of its 2008 war with Georgia if the South Caucasus state joins NATO.

Speaking at a news conference after the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels on Thursday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had warned NATO foreign ministers against “pushing the current Georgian regime towards a repetition of their August 2008 gamble.”

From Civil Georgia: Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, criticized NATO foreign ministers for naming Georgia in their joint communiqué among the “aspirant” countries.

The final statement of NATO foreign ministerial meeting, held in Brussels on December 7, reads: “We applaud the significant operational support provided to NATO by our aspirant partners the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia.”

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels after the NATO-Russia Council on December 8, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he had “openly warned” his counterparts from the Alliance that such statements might serve as an encouragement for President Saakashvili to undertake “an adventure similar to the one of August, 2008.”

“I noticed that yesterday’s communiqué, which was adopted by the NATO foreign ministers, contains a term ‘aspirant countries’ and among them was named Georgia too. I openly warned our colleagues not to again push, wittingly or unwittingly, the current regime in Georgia towards repeating an adventure similar to the one of August, 2008… it was shortly after the [April, 2008 NATO] Bucharest summit, during which [NATO] imperatively stated, that Georgia will join NATO,” Lavrov said.

“I have not the slightest doubt, taking into account Saakashvili’s psyche, that it [NATO Bucharest summit decision] played an important role in insane and reckless decision which Saakashvili took. So I expressed hope that the NATO will take a responsible approach towards encouraging such events that took place in 2008 in the region, which is strategic not only for the South Caucasus states, but for the Russian Federation too – our close allies and neighbors are living there. I hope I’ve been heard [by NATO],” the Russian Foreign Minister added. (photo: Reuters)

The Russian-Georgian war as a geostrategic turning point

Jorge Benitez — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 15:13:52 -0600

From Fyodor Lukyanov, Russia in Global Affairs: President Dmitry Medvedev made a remarkable statement during a speech to military officers in southern Russia early this week. Regarding the August 2008 war between Russian and Georgia, he said, “For some of our partners, including NATO, it was a signal that they must think about geopolitical stability before making a decision to expand the alliance.”

This is the first time a Russian official has acknowledged that its conflict with Georgia was not only about “protecting compatriots,” but also about the need to forestall strategic changes on Russia’s border. Georgia pounced, claiming that Medvedev’s statement amounts to an admission that Russia bears responsibility for starting the war. . . .

Medvedev spoke a truth that was apparent to everyone; the real cause of the five-day war was tensions that had been accumulating in the region for several years. In the mid-2000s, the U.S. administration decided to expand NATO into the post-Soviet space. Ukraine and Georgia hoped to join but were eventually denied membership. Washington and several European capitals disregarded Moscow’s warning that this would be interpreted as crossing the line. They argued that Russia has always been against the alliance’s expansion but ultimately accepts the inevitable. Moscow failed to convince its partners that there is a major difference between Poland, or even Estonia, and Ukraine. Ultimately, tensions came to a head and the pretext for Russia’s invasion came in the form of the attack ordered by Mikheil Saakashvili to “restore constitutional order.”

Looking back on the five-day war, it is clear that it was a major turning point for all sides involved.

For Russia, it was psychological revenge after 20-year-long geopolitical retreat. It was proof that Moscow can say no. The United States and its allies were shown that Moscow was serious about drawing a line in the sand. They accepted the signal.

Fyodor Lukyanov is editor in chief of the journal Russia in Global Affairs. (photo: Reuters) (via Real Clear World)

NATO ambassadors visit Georgia and discuss alliance membership

Jorge Benitez — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:53:30 -0600

From NATO: The NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC) at Ambassadorial level met in Tbilisi today with the participation of the Georgian Prime Minister. . . .

Allied Ambassadors, together with the Prime Minister of Georgia, reaffirmed the central role of the NGC and the Annual National Programme (ANP) in supervising the process set in hand at the Bucharest Summit. . . .

The NGC welcomed the deepening NATO-Georgia cooperation in the defence and security fields.

Allied Ambassadors recalled the agreement of Heads of State and Government at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Georgia will become a member of NATO, and reaffirmed all elements of that decision, as well as subsequent decisions. . . .

NATO Ambassadors welcomed Georgia’s pledge not to use force and Georgia’s full compliance with the EU-mediated cease-fire agreement. NATO Ambassadors recalled the decisions taken at the Lisbon Summit, notably the decision to urge Russia to meet its commitments with respect to Georgia, as mediated by the European Union on 12 August and 8 September 20081. NATO Ambassadors welcomed the Georgian Government’s engagement policy with the populations of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia and encouraged Georgia’s further engagement with the population of these regions.

The NGC also discussed concrete measures to enhance Georgia’s relations with NATO and agreed to pursue further work to:

Broaden and deepen the political dialogue and practical cooperation within the NGC to cover wider issues of common interest, including on regional cooperation, and on emerging security challenges, such as the fight against terrorism, and risks to cyber and energy security;
Provide support to Georgia’s participation in ISAF;
Increase interoperability in military cooperation, crisis management and civil emergency planning;
Enhance cooperation on education and training, including through supporting the National Defence Academy of Georgia;
Strengthen the role of the Professional Development Programme in supporting the implementation of civil service reform and strengthening capacity for civil democratic oversight of the defence and security sector in Georgia;
Underpin Georgia’s efforts at building a vibrant democratic society, including through a more structured engagement with the civil society of Georgia;

Issues related to the democratic development in Georgia, the conflict resolution process, Georgia’s engagement strategy, as well as Georgia’s contributions to Euro-Atlantic security will be subjects of NGC discussions, also at Ambassadorial level, in 2012.

To support this effort, Allied Ambassadors committed themselves to further strengthening the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia. They also committed to work towards completing the NATO Georgia Trust Fund III on Explosive Remnants of War Clearance and Medical Rehabilitation Support through seeking further contributions to this project.

Excerpts from Joint Statement of the NATO-Georgia Commission at the level of Ambassadors, with the participation of the Prime Minister of Georgia. (photo: NATO)

Sarkozy accuses Russia and warns Turkey during Caucasus trip

Jorge Benitez — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:13:28 -0500

From Emmanuel Jarry, Reuters: French President Nicolas Sarkozy accused Russia before a cheering crowd in Georgia on Friday of violating the ceasefire that ended the 2008 war in the Caucasus and assured his audience that the door to the European Union remains open.

Sarkozy addressed some 30,000 people packing Freedom Square in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, his last stop on a two-day Caucasus region tour that also took him to Armenia and Azerbaijan.

He said Russia had flouted the truce he brokered to end its five-day war with Georgia by building up forces in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia instead of withdrawing to pre-conflict positions.

"France will not resign itself to a 'fait accompli'," he said, with Georgia's pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili, looking on. "I would like to reiterate here my commitment to watch over the enforcement of the accord. . . ."

Sarkozy said the ex-Soviet republic was "free to express its aspirations to join NATO, if it is the will of the people", as well as "to draw closer to the European Union and one day join.

"When I am in Tbilisi, I feel I am in Europe," he said.

Sarkozy also pleased his hosts in Armenia, warning Turkey that it might soon become illegal in France to deny that the mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 was genocide. He called on Turkey to make a "gesture of reconciliation" and recognize the killings as genocide.

If it does not, he said, France "will consider it must go further to amend its legislation to penalise this denial. . . ."

The challenge by the president of France, which opposes Turkey's bid to join the EU, drew an angry rebuttal from Ankara.

Turkey's foreign minister said France should confront its colonial past before giving lessons to others.

The French "do not have the right to teach Turkey a history lesson or call for Turkey to face its history," Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference. (photo: Reuters)

Georgia releases confessed Russian spy

Jorge Benitez — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:28:29 -0500

From Ellen Barry, the New York Times: Last week, several days after the photographer Giorgi Abdaladze confessed to selling classified documents to Russia’s foreign intelligence service, he was released without being sentenced to a prison term or even given a fine. After Georgian officials had publicly excoriated Mr. Abdaladze as being a participant in a brazen espionage campaign, his 15-day prosecution ended as abruptly as it had begun.

The brief case against Mr. Abdaladze and three other photographers was a baffling one, even in a season of high Georgian anxiety about covert Russian activities. Because it ended in a plea agreement, like an overwhelming number of criminal prosecutions in Georgia, it will never be resolved in court, and all four of the accused risk spending years in prison if they violate their deal by speaking about it.

It has left behind a deep rift between parts of Georgian society — those who believe Russian agents have been able to infiltrate the closest circles around President Mikheil Saakashvili, and those who believe the government has entangled innocent people in its claims against Russia. Western officials, who must weigh whether to confront Russia over a series of Georgian charges, have been cautious in their assessment. . . .

Lawyers for Mr. [Zurab] Kurtsikidze and Mr. Abdaladze announced that their clients had agreed to plead guilty to espionage. They were released on probation, with conditional sentences ranging from six months to three years. Georgia’s public defender, Giorgi Tughushi, said that he had met with the defendants while they were in custody and that none of them said they had come under physical or psychological pressure to confess. (photo: Justyna Mielnikiewicz/New York Times)