Russian Envoy: Georgia’s NATO Membership will Hinder Conflict Resolution

Georgia’s accession into NATO will “immensely complicate and make very remote” the resolution of the South Ossetian and Abkhaz conflicts, Russian Ambassador to Georgia Vyacheslav Kovalenko said in an interview to the Russian newspaper Vremya Novostei published on March 12.

“It [Georgia’s NATO membership] will further increase the concerns of Tskhinvali and Sokhumi about methods resorted to by Tbilisi and will further distance people living in Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Tbilisi. A feeling that Tbilisi plans to solve conflicts with the use of force will become stronger there [in Tskhinvali and Sokhumi],” Kovalenko said.

He also said that “it is clear for any individual that there are more minuses than pluses in this project,” referring to Georgia’s aspiration to join NATO.

Based on a memorandum signed by the major political parties in Georgia on March 12, the Georgian Parliament passed a declaration on March 13 voicing strong support towards the country’s NATO integration.

In the interview with the Russian newspaper, Ambassador Kovalenko also spoke about the peacekeeping operations in Georgia’s conflict zones and said the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers would “inevitably lead to extreme tensions in the conflict zones and beyond.”

“Because of this possibly dangerous scenario, even talks about the replacement of the existing peacekeeping formats are ruled out before there is progress in the political settlement of the conflicts and before the possibility of forceful resolution of the conflicts is totally removed,” Kovalenko added.

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