On September 18, on air of TV Obiektivi, one of the leaders of Alliance of Patriots, Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi spoke about the initiative of their party, which is the Georgia – NATO – Russia format and explained that the aim of the given format is to get non-aggression guarantees, as NATO might attack both Russia and Georgia.
Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, a leader of Alliance of Patriots: “NATO, too, believes that it may attack Russia and we also believe that it may attack us… So, let us create a new format: Georgia – NATO – Russia and discuss that in this format. Georgia – NATO – Russia format is not being created to decide whether Georgia becomes a member of NATO, this format will rather have a totally different aim: we should speak of non-aggression, non-aggression guarantees.”
TV Obiektivi, Night Studio, September 18
- According to the Special Representative of NATO Secretary General, James Appathurai, NATO is not planning to hold negotiations with Russia or any other side on Georgia’s future, as the future of Georgia in the North Atlantic Alliance is only up to Georgia to decide.
- NATO – Russia cooperation has been suspended due to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and the unlawful annexation of Crimea.
- The statement of the leader of Alliance of Patriots about the threat of NATO attacking Georgia or Russia is absurd, as NATO is a defensive military-political organization in its essence.
Collective Defense Principle
NATO’s aim is to provide freedom and security of the member states of the alliance by political and military means.
- Political means include supporting democratic values of the member states, solving problems based on consultations and cooperation on defense and security issues, confidence-building and in long term, providing for prevention of conflict.
- Military means’ description holds that NATO supports peaceful resolution of disputes. In case diplomatic efforts are unsuccessful, NATO employs military force for initiating operations for crisis management. NATO’s military operations are conducted in accordance to the collective security principle, included in the 5th article of the Washington Treaty, establishing the alliance.
NATO uses military force under the collective defense principle only when one or more member states of the alliance are subject to a military attack, which, in turn, is perceived as a military attack on all members states of NATO. In such case, with the aim of restoring and sustaining the security of the North Atlantic region, the alliance will aid the country or countries that came under threat and implement all necessary actions, including the use of military force.
The fifth article of the Washington Treaty has been hitherto enacted only once – after the 9/11 attacks, as a response to the terrorist attacks.
NATO – Russia Relations
The section on the official webpage of the North Atlantic Alliance named “Relations with Russia” holds that NATO has been aspiring for partner relations, dialogue and development of practical cooperation with Russia in the sphere of common interests, however, the cooperation was ceased following Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. It also explains that despite the core and unchanging disagreements between NATO and Russia, the alliance is not aspiring towards confrontation with Russia and does not bear any threat to it.
- In 2002, NATO – Russia Council was created. It represented a sort of a forum for consultations between NATO and Russia on security issues and for the practical cooperation in different spheres.
- In August 2008, as a result of disproportionate military actions of Russian Federation conducted in Georgia, formal meetings of NATO – Russia Council and cooperation in several spheres were cancelled until spring 2009. NATO supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia in internationally recognized borders and calls for Russia to revoke the recognition of the independence of Georgia’s integral parts, Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region.
- In April 2014, as a response to the Russo – Ukrainian conflict, all types of civic and military cooperation with Russia were ceased, however, channels for political and military communication are open. According to NATO, Russia violated international law and acted against the base document of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, NATO – Russia bilateral relations, cooperation and security agreements and principles and obligations of Rome Declaration, which significantly shattered the trust between Russia and NATO. The format of political dialogue maintained with Russia only includes exchanging opinions on the current crisis.
Message-box of Alliance of Patriots and the Kremlin’s Official Policy
On July 10, 2017, a three-person delegation of Alliance of Patriots (Ada Marshania, Giorgi Lomia and Nato Chkheidze) visited Moscow and on July 11, held a meeting with the delegates of the State Council of Russia. According to the State Council of Russia, the prospect of restoring Russo – Georgian relations, Georgia’s cooperation with NATO and the existing situation in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region were discussed on the meeting.
On July 13, 2017, according to the Special Representative of the Secretary General of NATO, James Appathurai, NATO is not planning to hold negotiations with Russia or any other side on Georgia’s future, as the future of Georgia in the North Atlantic Alliance is only up to Georgia to decide.
On August 6, 2017, in a video-clip on TV Obiektivi, Alliance of Patriots not only called for the creation of the new political format of Georgia – NATO – Russia, necessity of direct negotiations with Russia and repealing the Law on Occupation, but also announced manifestations for September and October and called the population for participating in them. In the video-clip, a leader of the Alliance of Patriots, Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi explained that Georgia – NATO – Russia format concerns “non-aggression and immutability of borders”.
| Non-aggression | Immutability of borders | Risks of the direct dialogue with Russia | Law on the Occupied Territories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia has committed to non-aggression towards Russia, while Russia refuses to take such commitment. | On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized Abkhazia and so-called South Ossetia as independence states. | Since the agreement on ceasefire from August 12, 2008, Geneva International Talks remain the only format of dialogue between Georgia and Russia, which are important in a way that Georgia is not alone vis-à-vis the aggressor country, but rather other important partners of Georgia – UN, OSCE and the EU – are involved, too. | The Law of Georgia on the Occupied Territories aims to define the status of the territories occupied through the military aggression of the Russian Federation and establish a special legal regime of these territories, which implies restrictions on the free movement on the occupied territories, carrying out legally determined economic activities, making deals regarding real estate etc.
Like for Alliance of Patriots, the Law is also unacceptable for the Kremlin, demonstrated by the statements of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, and his Deputy, Grigory Karasin. |
Prepared by Dali Kurdadze
