Democratic values as a criterion for Georgia’s accession to NATO

The issue of Georgia’s integration into NATO directly depends on the implementation by the authorities of the country of the conditions developed by the European Union (EU). The North Atlantic Alliance includes democratic countries, and not only compliance in the field of security and defence is important for a country to become a NATO member, Georgian experts believe.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that for more than 25 years of rapprochement with NATO has been one of the Georgia’s foreign policy priorities. According to political analysts, membership in the North Atlantic Alliance will allow Georgia to feel more secure and stabilize its relations with Russia.

Georgian analysts believe that the issue of the Georgia’s integration into NATO directly depends on the fulfilment of the EU conditions presented to the country’s authorities for obtaining the status of a candidate member of the EU.

Mamuka Zhgenti, an employee of the Institute of European Values of Georgia, notes that NATO is not only a military organization and that it will not accept a country if it has even “the best army in the world,” but dictatorship reigns there and there are no democratic values. “Democratic values and the rule of law are the fundamental values of NATO. Compliance with the NATO standards is one of the criteria,” Mamuka Zhgenti told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Nika Chitadze, the head of the Centre for Security Studies and International Relations, emphasizes that the country’s authorities “clearly show a lack of motivation to ensure reforms at the proper level.” Moreover, Georgia does not meet the NATO standards at the political level, the expert believes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 20, 2022 at 10:57 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.