Former NATO Commander: if Abkhazia, South Ossetia viewed as frozen conflicts, the door to NATO could open for Georgia

In an interview with the Georgian edition Voice of America, former NATO Commander James Stavridis says that NATO membership for Georgia will become more realistic if the country’s occupied territories will be viewed as frozen conflicts. 

Unfortunately, as time goes on, South Ossetia and Abkhazia have become...frozen conflicts… This actually increases Georgia's chances of joining NATO. I think the same about Ukraine. It is unlikely that Crimea will return to Ukraine soon, or that South Ossetia and Abkhazia will return to Georgia soon. But if we assume that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are frozen conflicts, that this is a fact that we cannot change, I think the door will be opened for Georgia to become a full member of NATO, and perhaps, in time, for Ukraine as well. This does not mean surrendering the territories”, he said.

Stavridis said that if he was a Georgian or a Ukrainian, he would try to consolidate and join NATO and return the occupied territories over time.

In any case, it is a very difficult path, but if I were you, I would rather be a member of NATO than a NATO partner. However, I would definitely like to add that this is up to the Georgians and not the Americans or former NATO leaders. This is a decision of a country that is in a very difficult position", Stavridis said.

He also noted that back in 2008 during the Russian-Georgian war the response of the West 'was inadequate'. 

"I think we should have imposed massive sanctions. Later, we learned this lesson in Ukraine. But I think at that time there was still hope that somehow we could reset relations with Russia, find a better way, not suddenly embark on a new Cold War", Stavridis said.