Georgian Parliament official: Georgia must face reality on NATO enlargement

Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Wednesday warned that Georgia should not expect NATO enlargement in the near future, highlighting that Ukraine was effectively denied membership.

In his remarks, Samkharadze emphasised that the perception of NATO as an ever-expanding alliance was outdated.

“We have seen the US National Security Strategy. It clearly states that the perceptions and illusions that NATO will continue to be an ever-expanding alliance must end”, he said.

Given Ukraine’s exclusion from membership, the official argued that Georgia should similarly temper expectations and adjust its foreign policy accordingly.

“We know the weight and influence the US has in NATO, and we also know very well that no decision in NATO is made without the US. Accordingly, it should be clear to everyone that in the coming years - or even decades - NATO may not expand. We see that Ukraine was effectively denied NATO [membership], so we should not harbour the illusion that the same will not apply to Georgia. We must approach this issue realistically and pragmatically”, Samkharadze concluded.

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on European Integration, on Wednesday said the new US National Security Strategy has effectively put an end to the Alliance’s eastern enlargement.