Medvedev accused NATO of escalating tensions by discussing Georgia’s possible entry into the alliance, something Georgia has shown interest in
Moscow may annex the Russian-backed breakaway regions of GeorgiaSouth Ossetia and Abkhazia, Kremlin Security Council Vice Chairman Dmitry Medvedev warned, according to Politico.
Russia’s former president and prime minister accused NATO of escalating tensions by discussing Georgia’s possible entry into the alliance, something Georgia has shown interest in.
“In Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the idea of joining Russia is still popular. And it may well be implemented, if there are good reasons for it,” Medvedev said in an opinion piece published Wednesday morning on the Russian news website Argumenty i Fakty.
The two Moscow-backed regions found themselves at the center of one of a brief war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008. After the collision, in which Russian forces occupied nearly 20 percent of Georgia’s territory, Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of the two regions.
On the 15th anniversary of the conflict, Medvedev, who was then president, warned that Russia “will not hesitate” to act if their unspecified “concerns” come true.
Georgia has repeatedly expressed interest in joining both NATO and the EU over the years. In 2008, a national referendum showed that 77 percent of voters supported Georgia joining NATO, with the transatlantic military alliance releasing a report saying the country would eventually join, but progress on joining has since stalled.
As Russia continues to wage an all-out war in neighboring Ukraine, for Medvedev, Georgia joining NATO would be a way to “create another hotbed of tension near our borders.”
Source :Skai
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