NATO, Energy and War - Georgia pays price for its Nato ambitions- by Robert Parsons
Two key events well beyond Georgia's borders have triggered Russia's fury. The first was Kosovo's declaration of independence in February and the new country's subsequent recognition by many Western states. This brought a public warning from Moscow that Kosovo's move to independence could set a precedent for Georgia's two breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The second was Nato's pledge at the Bucharest summit in April that membership of the Atlantic Alliance for both Georgia and Ukraine was not a matter of "if" but "when", although in deference to Russian objections, no timetable for entry was granted. This provoked Vladimir Putin, then still Russia's president, to promise more support for Georgia's breakaway regions.
Note EU-Digest : "Georgia's bid to join NATO is driven by its desire to drag other countries into its bloody undertakings, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting Vladikavkaz to discuss measures to help those affected by the South Ossetian conflict. "I think both in Georgia and Russia, and in the rest of the world it has become absolutely clear that the desire of Georgian authorities to join NATO is motivated not by their ambition to form part of a global security system and contribute to the strengthening of international peace. Tbilisi's NATO bid is determined by other considerations, namely an attempt to embroil other nations in its bloody undertakings," Putin stressed. The EU should react with calm to this explosive situation and not get embroiled in the emotional fallout by former Eastern European states in reaction to this conflict. The basic issue is that the subtle but very real expansion of power by NATO (US) towards the Russian border is seen by the Russians as threatening to their national security.
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