NATO-Russia ‘neighborhood’ in South Caucasus evidence of region’s importance for both – Styopa Safaryan

In an interview with Tert.am, political analyst commented on NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s first official visit to Georgia, where Mr Stoltenberg is expected to participate in the opening of a NATO training center.

Russia, which is viewing the South Caucasus as an area of its exclusive presence, will certainly react painfully to the event.

NATO is obviously scaling up its activities in this region, which is of strategic importance to it. NATO intensified it activities in the Baltic States opening training centers there as well. Georgia is also one of the most important countries for it because the Wales statement calls Georgia NATO’s number one partner. Of course, for a number of reasons NATO avoided offering Georgia a Membership Action Plan, which Georgia had expected for years, even after the Bucharest Summit of 2008. However, not to antagonize Russia on the one hand, and considering Georgia’s territorial problems with Russia on the other hand, NATO chose a slightly different way. And NATO and Georgia are now following this way – Georgia is supposed to perfectly meet the NATO standards. After all, numerous states are not NATO members, but are extremely influential in the NATO area.

As regards a possible impact in the future, Russia’s reaction can be expected. Russia is trying to draw its partners into its own actions, which may cause certain tension.

“That is, they are well aware that the expansion of NATO-Georgia relations of NATO presence in the South Caucasus may irk Russia. And to prevent such developments, they are trying to create a so-called atmosphere of confidence. One of the ways is at least Georgian-Russian rapprochement process even if they do not believe results.”

Asked about Russia’s possible reaction to the joint NATO training center plan, Safaryan said he doesn’t absolutely expect an approval. “Judging by Russia’s reaction over the past months –to the NATO military exercises in the Baltic States, as well as the opening of such centers in other places – that country believes that NATO keeps blockading it from different sides. Hence, the mere presence of a training center will be perceived as a move strengthening NATO’s positions. You are aware that NATO’s expansion is described as a threat to Russia; hence its presence is not likely to be greeted as something good.”

Safaryan added that NATO’s training centers, as infrastructures of defense, are treated as very important units which Russia would never hail as a country seeking to spread its influence on the Caucasus region.

Asked what rules of co-existence he sees for Armenia, a member state of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Safaryan said he doesn’t think the neighborhood issue to be a problem, “The problem is about having a common border, not about neighborhood. And NATO and Russia have shared borders in many areas ranging from the Baltic zone to southeastern Europe and, why not, also Armenia, as Turkey which borders on it has NATO troops along its state frontier. So it doesn’t absolutely have anything to do with neighborhood but the fact that a region like the South Caucasus is on the one hand thought to be strategically important and on the other hand, Russia treats it as an area of top priority.”