Russia threatens 'horrible' conflict if Georgia joins Nato
Dmitry Medvedev warns plan to offer former Soviet republic membership is 'threat to peace'
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Your support makes all the difference.Russia has threatened a “horrible” conflict if Nato were to incorporate Georgia into the alliance.
In a warning to the West marking 10 years since the Russia-Georgia war, Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian prime minister, said Nato’s plan to ultimately offer membership to the former Soviet republic was a “threat to peace”.
Mr Medvedev was the Russian president during the August 2008 war, which erupted when Georgian troops tried unsuccessfully to regain control over the Moscow-backed breakaway province of South Ossetia.
“There is an unresolved territorial conflict... and would they bring such a country into the military alliance?” Mr Medvedev said. “Do they understand the possible implications? It could provoke a horrible conflict.”
Mr Medvedev pointed to Moscow’s recognition of independence of South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia, and the Russian military bases there, saying that any attempt to change the status quo could lead to “extremely grave consequences”.
“I hope that Nato’s leadership will be smart enough not to take any steps in that direction,” he said.
The Russian prime minister described Nato’s eastward expansion as a major security threat to Russia.
“Whatever our colleagues from the alliance may say, Nato countries see Russia as a potential enemy,” he said. “We can’t help getting worried when the circle around our country keeps narrowing as more and more countries join Nato. Nato’s expansion clearly poses a threat to the Russian Federation.”
In the summer of 2008, Mr Medvedev sent troops that routed the Georgian military in five days of fighting in the Transcaucasia region. With the Russian army poised to advance on the Georgian capital, Mr Medvedev accepted a truce mediated by the European Union.
After the war, Georgia entirely lost control of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia has strengthened its military presence in both regions and recognised them as independent states, but only a few countries have followed suit.
The EU on Tuesday reiterated its “firm support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders” and lamented the Russian military presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In a show of support for Georgia, foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and a cabinet member from Ukraine, visited Tbilisi on Tuesday, urging Russia to withdraw its troops from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. “Nowadays no country can change the borders of another country by force,” said Polish foreign minister Jacek Czaputowicz.
Russian-Georgian relations have improved since the war, but the issue of the breakaway regions remains, preventing the full normalisation of ties.
Additional reporting by AP
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