http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=24246
Civil Georgia
December 8, 2011
Lavrov Slams NATO for Calling Georgia 'Aspirant'
"It was shortly after the [April, 2008 NATO] Bucharest summit, during
which [NATO] imperatively stated that Georgia will join NATO," Lavrov
said.
"I have not the slightest doubt, taking into account Saakashvili's
psyche, that it [the NATO Bucharest summit decision] played an
important role in the insane and reckless decision which Saakashvili
took..."
Tbilisi: Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, criticized NATO
foreign ministers for naming Georgia in their joint communiqué among
the "aspirant" countries.
The final statement of NATO foreign ministerial meeting, held in
Brussels on December 7, reads: "We applaud the significant operational
support provided to NATO by our aspirant partners the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
Georgia."
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels after the NATO-Russia
Council on December 8, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said
that he had "openly warned" his counterparts from the Alliance that
such statements might serve as an encouragement for President
Saakashvili to undertake "an adventure similar to the one of August,
2008."
"I noticed that yesterday's communiqué, which was adopted by the NATO
foreign ministers, contains a term 'aspirant countries' and among them
was named Georgia too. I openly warned our colleagues not to again
push, wittingly or unwittingly, the current regime in Georgia towards
repeating an adventure similar to the one of August, 2008...It was
shortly after the [April, 2008 NATO] Bucharest summit, during which
[NATO] imperatively stated that Georgia will join NATO," Lavrov said.
"I have not the slightest doubt, taking into account Saakashvili's
psyche, that it [the NATO Bucharest summit decision] played an
important role in the insane and reckless decision which Saakashvili
took. So I expressed hope that the NATO will take a responsible
approach towards encouraging such events that took place in 2008 in
the region, which is strategic not only for the South Caucasus states,
but for the Russian Federation too – our close allies and neighbors
are living there. I hope I've been heard [by NATO]," the Russian
Foreign Minister added.
Giorgi Baramidze, the Georgian state minister for Euro-Atlantic
integration issues, welcomed the wording of the communiqué, saying it
was "the first time when Georgia was named in an official NATO
document in a status of a NATO membership candidate country."
Georgian Foreign Minister, Grigol Vashadze, said in a televised
comments from Brussels on December 8, it was natural that the NATO
foreign ministers' statement "triggered Russia's terrible irritation",
which, he said, was reflected in the remarks of his Russian
counterpart.
Speaking on background with reporters in Brussels on December 7, an
official from the U.S. Department of State said that NATO foreign
ministers, among other issues, also discussed the importance of
keeping the Alliance's door open to four countries – Macedonia,
Montenegro, Bosnia and Georgia, which are seeking to join NATO.
"We talked about the importance of keeping the door to NATO
membership open to these countries and to use the Chicago summit to
send a signal of what they would continue to need to do in order to
become members," the U.S. Department of State official said.
...
The statement also reaffirms NATO's open door policy and "strong
commitment to the Euro-Atlantic integration of our aspirant partners,
in accordance with previous decisions taken at the Bucharest,
Strasbourg-Kehl and Lisbon Summits."
"Democratic values, regional cooperation, and good neighbourly
relations are important for lasting peace and stability. We welcome
progress aspirant countries have made and we encourage them to
continue to implement the necessary decisions and reforms to advance
their Euro-Atlantic aspirations," the NATO foreign ministers said.
KOMINFORM
http://www.kominform.eu
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