Tbilisi’s cooperation with NATO is not aimed at placing the military infrastructure of the North-Atlantic Alliance in Georgia, the country’s prime minister’s special representative for relations with Russia, Zurab Abashidze said.
"Georgia as an independent state has the right to cooperate with any international organization, including NATO," Tass cited him as saying.
"This cooperation with NATO is not aimed at placing the alliance’s military infrastructure in the country," Abashidze said.
In this case, Georgia, according to Abashidze, is not going to join NATO in the near future, and thid is known to all interested parties. "Everyone knows well that the issue of Georgia joining NATO is not on the agenda for today or tomorrow," he concluded.
Yesterday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed the opinion that Georgia's accession to the alliance is unlikely to maintain stability in the South Caucasus.
The head of the Center for Security Studies and International Relations of Georgia, Nika Chitadze, told 'Vestnik Kavkaza' that he questioned the reliability of Abashidze's information. "First of all, there is agreement between the government of Georgia and NATO on the location of a NATO training center in Georgia. Perhaps Abashidze just has his own opinion, although he is an official, a representative of the Prime Minister of Georgia," the analyst suggested.
According to Chitadze, the prospects of NATO military bases in the country are so real that other policies have already addressed it. "I personally think that the base should be located on the territory of Georgia, because a few days ago, for example, Janelidze said that the location of the center is now under consideration," the expert said. "Every sovereign state has the right to choose its foreign policy and to have or not to have military bases, military installations of any company or state on its territory," Nika Chitadze said.
The chief editor of 'National Defense', Igor Korotchenko, is also skeptical about Abashidze's statement. "We can not trust these statements by Georgia, because Russia has its own national interests. Therefore, NATO military activity on the territory of Georgia and Georgia's possible membership of the alliance or the placement of foreign bases on its territory, will be perceived as a potential threat to Russia's interests. We cannot base policy on some statements by some Georgian officials. All of this is lulling vigilance. So Russia will base policy on its own understanding of what is good and what is bad for it in the region," the expert said.
The opening of a NATO base in Georgia, according to Korochenko, will be negatively perceived by Russia and may cause complex consequences. "If Georgia wants to run into another wave of confrontation, it will receive it. Russia clearly states that the appearance of foreign military infrastructure near its border will be regarded as a threat. So we will fend off this threat by military means. This will not lead Georgia to strengthen its security," he concluded.
