by Marcus Papadopoulos
Russia’s envoy to Nato said last week that allowing Georgia entry into the Western military alliance would defy logic if its new borders were not internationally recognised beforehand.
Speaking to the Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy, Dmitri Rogozin responded to the recent visit to Georgia by United States Vice-President Joe Biden – in which American support for Tbilisi joining Nato was reaffirmed – by raising a new perspective on Georgian aspirations to join the alliance.
He said: “If a decision on Georgia’s accession to Nato is made now, the alliance will have to admit what was left of Georgia thanks to [President Mikheil] Saakashvili. It is absurd.”
Mr Rogozin was implicitly referring to Georgia’s attempt last August to recapture its breakaway region of South Ossetia by force – which not only resulted in Russia mobilising its forces in the region and repelling the attack but also saw Moscow recognise the independence of South Ossetia and Tbilisi’s other secessionist republic of Abkhazia.
Since then, the Kremlin has deployed thousands of its troops to both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Many analysts consider the two regions as now a de facto part of the Russian Federation.
There has been an increase in tension in recent months along Georgia’s border with the two disputed territories, with reports noting a build-up of Georgian military formations in the area. That has been in addition to President Saakashvili asking Washington for help in rebuilding his country’s shattered military capacity following the war in South Ossetia.
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev issued a presidential decree earlier this year stating that Russia will limit military co-operation with any country found to be providing Georgia with armaments.
Mr Rogozin, in his radio interview, warned of the implications of Georgian attempts to reconstruct its armed forces and of the consequences for countries which choose to assist in this.
He said: “Georgia’s ongoing militarisation is dangerous, as we know what it leads to. If it is proven that a producer – it is not important where, in the Arctic or in America – supplies offensive weapons, it will undoubtedly fall under the influence of this [President Medvedev’s] decree.”
Rumours persist of another war breaking out in Georgia this summer. It is believed that the Kremlin intends to depose President Saakashvili, whom it constantly refers to as a “political corpse”.
And this month witnessed the largest Russian military manoeuvres in the North Caucasus since Soviet times.
