Reforms are a pass to NATO for Georgia

In Georgia the second visiting session of the NATO Council at ambassadorial level since the five-day war took place, as well as the NATO-Georgia Committee under the general secretary of the alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He arrived in Tbilisi, together with ambassadors of the member-states of NATO, 40 minutes behind schedule. Moreover, the delegation arrived from Brussels by special flight of the Georgian airline Airzena. For some unknown reason Rasmussen stayed alone on the red carpet in front of the airplane. Then he came to limousine and left.

From the airport the cortege arrived at the hotel Radisson BLU Iveria, where before the Rose Revolution refugees from Abkhazia had lived. In 2004 the hotel was privatized and the refugees moved to other places, and today the Iveria is one of the best hotels in Georgia. The session of the NATO Council and the NATO committee took place there. After the August war of 2008 the first session of the NATO Council was held in Tbilisi, which was considered to be political support for the country by the alliance.

Interest in the event was huge. About 250 journalists got accreditation to cover the visit. Many people expected that the general secretary would say at the next NATO summit in Chicago in spring that Georgia would become a candidate for NATO membership. The mass media noted that the general secretary arrived in Tbilisi right after his visit to Washington and meeting with the US president. Georgian officials said that one of the main themes of their discussion was a possible “road map” for Georgia at the Chicago summit.

However, Rasmussen behaved distantly and didn’t say warm words. The general secretary complimented the authorities for anti-corruption measures and reforms and added that Georgia would be a NATO member some day. But Rasmussen’s position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia was uncompromising: “We continue the policy of non-recognition. Russia should fulfil its international obligations. The only way for a settlement of the problem is dialogue and cooperation. Even though there is no progress, we hope the Geneva negotiations will be held successfully.”

As a result of the joint session of the NATO-Georgia Committee and the NATO Council, support for the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Georgia and deep reforms was expressed. Reforms are a pass to the NATO for Georgia. The main test for correspondence to NATO standards will be next parliamentary and presidential elections in Georgia.

Rasmussen thanked the authorities of the country for the contribution to the ISAF operation in Afghanistan. However, the general secretary emphasized that participation of Georgian soldiers in the Afghanistan campaign isn’t connected with the problem of accession of Georgia to NATO.

Georgian experts think that the key moment in this process is the position of Russia. “We live in the real world and should accept the real environment,” the former ambassador of Georgia to NATO, Zurab Abashidze, told VK. “We cannot ignore Russia’s position, and it is difficult to say what is the way out of the situation.”