MOSCOW – NATO will not fight with Russia over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, if Georgia joins the alliance, William Lahue, NATO liaison officer in South Caucasus, said.
“(NATO) certainly won’t (fight). NATO’s task is to protect peaceful relations. And Georgia should determine the status of these territories itself. It needs to be understood clearly that as long as the Russian troops are deployed there, we won’t use the Article 5 in Georgia. Because no one wants a war,” Lahue said in an interview with the Kommersant-Vlast magazine.
“Presence of Russian military forces in Georgia will not stop Georgia’s accession to NATO,” and “the membership in NATO is possible, even if Russian servicemen are stationed in these territories,” but Georgia needs to determine the status of these territories independently, he said.
“Georgia should resolve this issue independently. All members of NATO recognize Georgia’s territorial integrity. And when Georgia receives an invitation to NATO, it will have to address the issue of the status of these territories independently. Because no one will use the Article 5 in these territories (the Article 5 of the NATO Treaty means stipulates that an attack against one member state is considered as an attack against the entire alliance),” Lahue said.
“All members of the alliance agreed that Georgia will be a NATO member,” he said, however, he was not able to name even approximate terms of Georgia’s possible accession to NATO.
“If Georgia wants to become a NATO member, we are helping it to prepare for it, reform the state to convince other NATO members that Georgia is ready. The definitive question of the NATO membership is a political decision. There should be consensus, it’s necessary to convince everyone. There is still no approval of all members of the alliance to accept Georgia. Certainly, it’s a political issue. There are still doubts whether Georgia is ready. But the matter is gradually moving forward. And Georgia will receive an invitation some time in the future. But I don’t know when it will happen,” he said.
“When? It depends on two factors: policy of various countries and Georgia’s readiness,” he said.
“Those are parallel processes. Certainly, some countries in the alliance are watching relations of Russia more, some of them less. But no one can influence NATO’s policy. No country can tell Georgia what decisions to adopt. And vice versa, no country can make us give somebody the NATO membership. Our idea is that every European country has the right to be a NATO member if it supports our values and is approved by other members of the alliance,” he said in an interview, the text of which was published on the Kommersant’s website.
