Former NATO Sec. Gen. Rasmussen: ‘Georgian gov’t must stabilize the political situation for the future of country’
In an interview with the Georgian office of Voice of America (VOA), Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that domestic, foreign and security policies are closely linked to each other, which the Georgian government should take into account and stabilize the political situation in the country. Photo: NATO.
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Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Secretary General of NATO, says that the current political crisis in Georgia is damaging the West’s view of the country.
In an interview with the Georgian office of Voice of America (VOA), Rasmussen said that domestic, foreign and security policies are closely linked to each other, which the Georgian government should take into account and stabilize the political situation in the country.
The current political crisis may be used by NATO members against Georgia’s membership in the alliance. They can use the internal political controversy as an additional argument as to why they should not invite Georgia to NATO. My advice, obviously, is for the government to stabilize the political situation in the country”, said Rasmussen.
Rasmussen thinks the arrest of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is a step backward. He believes that the issue of Saakashvili has bearing on Western partners’ view of the Georgian state and its readiness to be part of NATO.
Rasmussen said he will refrain from talking about the issue of Saakashvili in detail because he doesn’t know what charges have been brought against him, and he has no idea why Saakashvili decided to return to Georgia so suddenly.
I will not comment on this in detail, but I hope there will be a fair trial. Otherwise, new questions will arise for Georgia not only in terms of the rule of law, but also about the state in general”, Rasmussen told the VOA.
Saakashvili, who is imprisoned in Rustavi penitentiary No. 12, has been on hunger strike since his arrest on October 1.
The former president of Georgia, who is currently a citizen of Ukraine, was charged with abuse of authority in absentia in 2018 and sentenced to six years in prison.
Saakashvili has also been charged with four additional cases related to the illegal seizure of property, embezzlement, illegal rally dispersal, and illegal border crossing.
Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says that the only way for Georgia to accede into NATO at present is through the use of the EU-Cyprus model.
Rasmussen said that NATO member states “should move beyond offering warm words” about the democratic will of the Georgian and Ukrainian people, and acknowledge the disruptive role that “Kremlin paranoia is playing” in the accession process.
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Former Secretary-General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen says that it is time to set out an action plan for Georgia and Ukraine to become NATO member countries.