Russia is conducting perpetual disinformation campaigns against the Georgian people and will continue to do so, regardless of whether or not Article 6 is amended. Turkey is very important to this issue. The debate would push Germany and France to put forward an alternative proposal, which thus far they have failed to provide. Georgia, Ukraine and NATO Surrounding Russia. However, the most lasting negative impact of the 2008 war has been the de facto veto Russia now holds over Georgia’s NATO membership. When Georgia regained its independence from the Soviet Union later in 1991, it established eleven internal subdivisions (two autonomous republics and nine regions). But far from being intimidated, Georgia’s envoy to the United States says Russia’s intervention has only redoubled the country’s desire to join NATO and the European Union. This is not meant to be a criticism of Ukraine; NATO should aspire to bring Ukraine into the Alliance someday. At NATO’s 2008 Bucharest Summit, the allies refused to go along with a US push to offer Georgia a Membership Action Plan (MAP), but agreed that it would someday become a member of the Alliance.1Hugh Williamson, “Germany Blocks Ex-Soviets’ NATO Entry,” Financial Times, April 1, 2008, https://www.ft.com/content/ab8eb6a6-ff44-11dc-b556-000077b07658 Germany and France intended for this equivocation to allay Russian objections, yet it was seized upon by Vladimir Putin as an opportunity to block Georgia’s path to the Alliance. Many allies are worried that if Georgia were to be granted membership, then NATO’s Article 5 security guarantee could mean an immediate conflict with Russia over these occupied regions. In August 2008, a mere four months after the Bucharest Summit, Russia invaded Georgia and occupied twenty percent of its internationally recognized territory. Tbilisi must first find the political will to support the idea of amending Article 6. Further, countering Russian disinformation will be crucial for the success of this proposal. However, Georgia’s accession to NATO would complicate Russian efforts to support its ally Armenia and – in the Russian mind, at least – potentially serve to undermine its efforts to stabilize its restive North Caucasus. Sign up to receive rapid insight in your inbox from Atlantic Council experts on global events as they unfold. Key to selling NATO members on the proposal will be dispelling the myth that Georgia cannot join the Alliance until the issue of its disputed territory is peaceably resolved. This should also include working with Turkey, one of the Alliance’s strongest supporters of Georgian membership.11Luke Baker, “Turkish Foreign Minister Calls for Enlarged NATO, Georgia Membership,” Reuters, January 23, 2020, https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1ZM1HB. It aspires to join the Alliance. Hugh Williamson, “Germany Blocks Ex-Soviets’ NATO Entry,”, The term “South Ossetia” is commonly used to describe the area north of Tbilisi that is under illegal Russian occupation. In addition, the official Georgian delegation to the next NATO Summit should include the leaders from opposition parties who support Georgian membership in the Alliance—something that should become routine practice. One idea worth considering is inviting Georgia—including Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region—to join NATO, but only covering the areas outside of the two occupied regions under NATO’s Article 5 security guarantee. However, this challenge is not insurmountable. both of which Moscow recognized as sovereign states after the war in flagrant violation of international law and the principles of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). We understand that if any other country claims that they are part of its national territory, this may have severe consequences. Alexis Mrachek is a research associate for Russia and Eurasia at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation. Finally, it is crucial that the United States play a leadership role by building a coalition of support for this proposal inside the Alliance. The Council decided to keep the wording but stripped the words “Algerian Departments of France” of their legal impact.9Antoaneta Boeva and Ivan Novotny, “Scope and Historical Developments of Article 6,” Emory International Law Review, 34 (2019): Rev. Medvedev’s comments come weeks after President Vladimir Putin warned NATO against cultivating closer ties with Ukraine and Georgia, saying such a policy was irresponsible and would have unspecified consequences for the alliance. “As for the recent NATO decision reaffirming its commitment to eventually admit Georgia, what can I say to this? It is true that admitting Georgia to NATO will not appreciably change the military balance between NATO and Russia. Opinion: Russia invaded Georgia 10 years ago. These measures will show NATO members that even though Georgia is a politically divided country (like most democracies around the world), there is political unity on the issue of NATO membership. It's also been more than 10 years since NATO agreed Georgia … Georgia is one of the Alliance’s closest partners. At best, it would welcome a new member into the transatlantic community that is fiercely committed to enduring deterrence. While Moscow was able to negotiate a ceasefire, it had to deploy peacekeepers and accede to (NATO member-state) Turkey’s influence in the South Caucasus. Georgia’s geostrategic location in the South Caucasus, its professional and capable military (and its political will to use it), and its commitment to liberty and democracy would make it a powerful addition to the stability of the transatlantic community. Russia likely will not end its occupation of Georgian territory in the near future, so creativity regarding Georgia’s future NATO membership is necessary. by Soldiers participate in a drill as part of the US-Georgian bilateral Georgia Defence Readiness Programme during a visit to Georgia by NATO’s Military Committee. NATO issues statement with regard to Russia, focusing on Georgia and Ukraine 15 April, 2021 / 17:26 Georgian, Ukrainian presidents hold phone talk 15 April, 2021 / 16:12 Chairman of parliament thanks Georgian soldiers serving in global hotspot for military activity 15 April, 2021 / 12:20 After the Mongol invasions of the region, the Kingdom of Georgia eventually was split into several states. © 2020 Atlantic Council This is to be expected, but if nothing else, there will finally be a meaningful debate about a responsible and realistic way to welcome Georgia into the Alliance. Some NATO members may not immediately support amending Article 6. Furthermore, one EU capability that would help protect Georgia from Russian disinformation is a commitment to provide technical support on intelligence-gathering. Moreover, there are countless examples of NATO members that do not have all their territory under the protection of Article 5, including the United States with its territory of Guam and the state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, the United Kingdom with the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, and France with Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. In 1963, Article 6’s meaning was amended when the North Atlantic Council acknowledged that the “Algerian Departments of France” no longer applied since Algeria had gained independence. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. At NATO’s 2008 Bucharest Summit, the allies refused to go along with a US push to offer Georgia a Membership Action Plan (MAP), but agreed that it would someday become a member of the Alliance. Russia founded it easy to invade Georgia because Georgia was neither a NATO member nor a U.S. military treaty ally. 199 JaNuaRy 29, 2018 NATO Membership for Georgia: In U.S. and European Interest Luke Coffey Abstract In August 2008, Russia invaded Georgia beginning a … Accession protocols are essentially “amendments or additions to the Treaty, which once signed and ratified by Allies, become an integral part of the Treaty itself and permit the invited countries to become parties to the Treaty.”6NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), “NATO Enlargement,” last updated May 5, 2020, https://www.nato.int/summit2009/topics_en/05-enlargement.html However, it should be made clear that the amendment to Article 6 would only be a temporary measure until Georgia’s full and internationally recognized territory is restored by peaceful means. Here is what the study says on the matter: “States which have ethnic disputes or external territorial disputes, including irredentist claims, or internal jurisdictional disputes must settle those disputes by peaceful means in accordance with OSCE principles. There are also concerns about whether Georgia’s democracy and political stability have developed enough to justify membership. However, the onus to make this case does not fall solely on the United States and its NATO allies. It must be perceived as a unifying national effort. Jun 15th 2006. moscow AP. Admitting Georgia into NATO would be a needless provocation to Russia. Instead of succumbing to Russian efforts to mislead, Georgian and NATO authorities can get ahead of the debate by launching a public relations campaign to explain the proposal and how it would mutually benefit Georgia and the Alliance. 121, https://law.emory.edu/eilr/content/volume-34/issue-special/articles/scope-historical-developments-article-6.html Similar modifications could be made for Georgia. Georgia and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) relations officially began in 1994 when Georgia joined the NATO-run Partnership for Peace.Georgia has moved quickly following the Rose Revolution in 2003 to seek closer ties and eventual membership with NATO. While the fate of NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine were linked in 2008, more than a decade later, it is time for a decoupling. Despite sounding quixotic, the proposal has merits. NATO 20/2020 Europe Jun 17th 2006 edition. Over time, a broad range of practical cooperation has developed between NATO and Georgia, which supports Georgia’s reform efforts and its goal of Euro-Atlantic integration. Until signals are sent to allied capitals that the Georgian government is on board, do not expect movement on this issue from the Alliance. Luke Coffey is the director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation. Christopher Skaluba, Gabriela R. A. Doyle. NATO leaders discussed ties with Georgia at their summit in Brussels in July, a move Medvedev, who was president when Russian and Georgian forces clashed in 2008, condemned. Prominent Georgian politicians are keen for their country to join the Western military alliance, but have seen their chances of joining hampered by Russian territorial incursions into the two breakaway territories - South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Amending Article 6 to state that Russian-occupied regions would be temporarily excluded from the Article 5 security protection is a realistic, responsible, and reasonable way to admit Georgia into NATO while accounting for concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. Russia is likely to launch a disinformation campaign to claim that amending Article 6 to temporarily exclude the occupied regions is proof that the Georgian people do not want them back. Equally important, it will send a strong message to Moscow that it no longer has a de facto veto on NATO enlargement. Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 was the first time since World War Two that one sovereign state in Europe crossed the border to invade another. Luke Baker, “Turkish Foreign Minister Calls for Enlarged NATO, Georgia Membership,” Reuters, January 23, 2020. This name is derived from the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast created in 1922 by the Soviet Union. As the NATO powers historically most reluctant to offer Georgia a MAP, Germany and France will likely object to this proposal early in the process. One of the biggest concerns shared by North American and European policy makers alike is Russia’s occupation of Georgian territory. Second, the issue of NATO membership must remain above domestic party politics in Georgia. All rights reserved. IT IS a … To this day, Russian aggression continues with “creeping annexations”3McCain Institute, “McCain Institute Unveils Tracker of Russian ‘Borderization’ in Georgia,” October 16, 2019, https://www.mccaininstitute.org/news/mccain-institute-unveils-tracker-of-russian-borderization-in-georgia/; McCain Institute, Heritage Foundation, and Economic Policy Research Center in Georgia, “Russian Borderization in Georgia,” October 2019, https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/183ab9d69fc702c33a79bfcd27b7b4d8/russian-borderization-in-georgia/index.html of even more Georgian territory. by In the end, the decision of when and how to admit Georgia to NATO will have a political dimension as well as a military one. End the Russian veto on Georgian accession - Atlantic Council NATO enlargement and Russia: myths and realities 03 Jul. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday criticized NATO exercises in Georgia next month as harmful and said other countries should join Russia in boycotting them. NATO 20/2020 This policy has helped to ensure the Alliance’s central place as the prime guarantor of security in Europe and admitting Georgia would extend that guarantee further in the contested Black Sea region. I don’t understand what they are doing this for,” Medvedev told Russia’s Kommersant newspaper in an interview. If Georgia indicates that it is willing to again participate in these or other missions, the United States should consider restarting the counterinsurgency training mission that it had in Georgia prior to the war with Russia. This would not be without precedent as Article 6 has been amended and modified before. Asked what would happen if Georgia joined NATO without the two regions and whether there was a risk of conflict, Medvedev said: “Yes, clearly so, because we view Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. It has already achieved its main objectives: effectively stopping Georgia’s NATO membership and establishing a military presence in the South Caucasus. 1 SPECIAL REPORT | NO. In 2010, Georgia unilaterally pledged not to use force to restore its control over the two regions under Russian occupation.7Civil Georgia, “Georgia Makes ‘Unilateral Pledge’ of Non-Use of Force,” November 23, 2010, https://old.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=22880 If Georgia will not use its own armed forces to liberate these regions, there is no need for an Article 5 security guarantee that covers Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region.8A similar proposal would not apply to Ukraine because Kyiv does not have a non-use of force pledge regarding Russian-occupied Crimea and the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. This would persist for at least the foreseeable future and strike a reasonable compromise between a Georgia “whole and free” in NATO and addressing concerns over security guarantees in the contested regions. In the aftermath of the Russian revolution, Georgia declared independence on 26 May 1918. Russian worries about Western encirclement are premature. Reexamining NATO’s founding charter can be an exercise in creating an Alliance fit for a new geopolitical era. (Source: Defense Visual Information Database System). In 1991, the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast declared independence from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, which resulted in the 1991–92 South Ossetia War. A few years earlier Russia’s invasion of Georgia, despite my dire warnings, also took the world by surprise. While it is in NATO’s best interest that any outstanding border disputes be resolved before members join the Alliance, the last sentence of the aforementioned paragraph clearly states that the resolution of such disputes would be “a factor,” and not the factor, in determining whether to invite a country to join NATO. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. The country actively contributes to NATO-led operations and cooperates with the Allies and other partner countries in many other areas. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Russia also carries out cyberattacks4Ryan Browne, “US and UK Accuse Russia of Major Cyber Attack on Georgia,” CNN, February 20, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/20/politics/russia-georgia-hacking/index.html. NATO Chief Opens Joint Training Base in Georgia Georgian officials say new training center will act as a deterrent to Moscow; Russia calls it provocative This amendment could be made during Georgia’s accession-protocol process. In 1951, just two years after NATO’s formation, it was modified prior to Greece and Turkey joining the Alliance. This is not meant to be a criticism of Ukraine; NATO should aspire to bring Ukraine into the Alliance someday. This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary for its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. Russia has recognized the two regions as independent states and Medvedev said Georgia’s entry into NATO therefore raised the risk of conflict with Moscow. Resolution of such disputes would be a factor in determining whether to invite a state to join the Alliance.”12NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), “Study on NATO Enlargement,” last updated November 5, 2008, https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_24733.htm. Georgia could be emboldened by its NATO membership to try and regain South Ossetia and draw NATO into a wider conflict with Russia. NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine has been off the table since 2008, following the 20th NATO Summit in Bucharest and Russia’s invasion of Georgia. Therefore, I hope that the NATO leadership will have enough sense not to take any steps in this direction.”. with Moscow. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), “Study on NATO Enlargement,” last updated November 5, 2008. Russian forces entered two breakaway Georgian regions in 2008, which remain garrisoned by Russian troops to this day, something Moscow says is in keeping with local people’s wishes, but which the West and the Georgian government call an illegal occupation. McCain Institute, “Tracking and Refuting Disinformation in Georgia: Social Media Monitoring and Analysis Final Report,” November 2019. Georgians, too, must take action to speed along their nation’s membership prospects. This name is derived from the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast created in 1922 by the Soviet Union. It's been more than 10 years since Russian forces invaded Georgia, occupying the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Sign up for updates from the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative, covering the debate on the greatest security challenges facing the North Atlantic Alliance and its key partners. While Russian tactics are a legitimate concern, it should not prevent policy makers from pursuing this proposal. and disinformation campaigns5McCain Institute, “Tracking and Refuting Disinformation in Georgia: Social Media Monitoring and Analysis Final Report,” November 2019, https://www.mccaininstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/final-report_disinformationgeogia.pdf in an attempt to discredit the Georgian government and undermine state institutions.