Political analysts approve Georgia's entry into NATO without resolving territorial disputes

Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen invited Georgia to join NATO under such a mechanism that NATO's Article 5 on collective defence of member states would not cover Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgian political analysts reacted positively to the initiative.

At the fifth international conference, hosted by the Economic Policy Research Centre and the McCain Institute in Georgia, former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Georgia "had demonstrated its ability to meet NATO standards."

"It is clear that unresolved border disputes with Russia in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are a problem. The question is how the problem can be resolved. I think that you should discuss internally whether you would like to join NATO under such a mechanism, according to which Article 5 will cover only the territory fully controlled by the Georgian government," the Former NATO Secretary General said.

According to Manana Nachkebiya, the leader of the "New Right-Wing" Party, it is not a question of NATO proposing to accept Georgia into its alliance without Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"This question is often interpreted in such a way ... in order to mislead the Georgian people and disseminate the false information that NATO is allegedly proposing to accept Georgia into its alliance without Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Of course, that is not the case. It is about the proposal that Article 5 will cover only the part of the territory of Georgia, which is fully controlled by the Georgian government. There is nothing surprising. There is already a precedent when Germany also joined NATO on similar conditions. We are well aware that fact did not prevent Germany from regaining the eastern part of its territory. The statement does not contain any danger to Georgia. We should know that NATO is the only chance for our country to be an independent state and restore its territorial integrity," Manana Nachkebiya told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 12, 2019 at 06:29 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.