After memorandum with USA, analysts assess prospects of Georgia's joining NATO

The visit of the US Secretary of Defence and the signing of a memorandum on strengthening Georgia's defence potentials have indicated NATO's interest in Georgia; however, no concrete steps are being taken in this direction (Georgia's accession to the NATO), since there is no political consensus among NATO members on this issue, the analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

Valery Chechelashvili, an analyst with the Georgian Fund for Strategic and International Studies, has noted that NATO representatives are periodically promising to admit Georgia to NATO, but no action is being taken towards this; there's no progress in this way. However, recent visits by the US Secretary of Defence and NATO Secretary General to Georgia indicate that the country has been "fixed within the European security architecture."

There is no action after NATO's promises to admit Georgia; and this is due to the absence of political consensus among its members – Germany and France, said Giya Abashidze, the chief analyst of the NGO "Civil Monitoring Centre". However, the visit of two high-ranking officials indicates that the West reckons with Georgia and perceives it as its partner, Mr Abashidze told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 26, 2021 at 03:18 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.