No fast-track NATO membership for Georgia
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 24 August ruled out any fast-track NATO membership for Georgia, ten years after the alliance's leaders pledged the ex-Soviet nation would join the club.
During a meeting with students at the Tbilisi State University in the Georgian capital, Merkel said: ‘I do not see Georgia's prompt accession to NATO (membership), this is the position of Germany.’
‘Things come gradually,’ she said of the country's NATO integration during the first leg of her regional trip to the South Caucasus.
At a summit in Bucharest in 2008, NATO leaders said Georgia would become a NATO member at some point, but – under pressure from Merkel and France's then-president Nicolas Sarkozy – refused to put the tiny Black Sea nation on a formal membership path.
Georgia's bid to join the 29-nation military alliance has infuriated its Soviet-era master Russia.
Years of increasing tensions culminated in August 2008 with a brief war over Georgia's Moscow-backed separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The war – which saw Russian troops routing Georgia's small military in just five days – claimed the lives of hundreds of people from both sides.
After the conflict, Russia recognised the two enclaves as independent states and stationed permanent military bases there.
The move constitutes ‘an occupation of 20% of Georgia's territory and a great injustice,’ Merkel told students.
In a symbolic move, Merkel on 24 August also went to the administrative boundary with South Ossetia, where Russian border guards have set up barbed wire fences.
On 24 August evening, she will travel to Armenia and on to Azerbaijan, where she will encourage ‘a peaceful and consensual solution’ to the two countries' long-running territorial conflict over the Nagorny Karabakh region, her office has said.
In Azerbaijan she is expected to discuss energy cooperation with the oil-rich Caspian nation, which is seen as one option for reducing Europe's reliance on Russian natural gas and oil.
More from Defence Notes
-
US lawmakers warn that “more military spending is absolutely necessary” to ensure Pentagon’s readiness
The US Congress has raised concerns about how inflation rates and cuts in main acquisition programmes could affect the US military.
-
US FY2024 funding package passes as China closes military capability gap
The Pentagon has been operating under temporary funding since October 2023, which has impacted its main acquisition and development programmes, increasing the capability gap between the US and China.
-
NATO outlines future challenges as Ukrainian funding from US stalls
In 2023, defence spending increased by an unprecedented 11% across European NATO countries and Canada. Since 2014, the group has spent an additional US$600 billion on defence.
-
US Pentagon to reduce investments in main acquisition programmes over FY2025
The DoD requested nearly US$850 billion to fund operations over the next fiscal year. Despite the amount being 1% higher than the FY2024 budget request, it has not covered the 3% inflation rate, which could impact the DoD’s main programmes in the medium and long term.
-
Haiti crisis forces Caribbean militaries to prepare for intervention
As gangs gain control of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s Caribbean neighbours have been preparing to intervene in the failed state, with the US and other partners waiting in the wings with equipment and financial support.