Professor John Mearsheimer says Georgia must avoid Western ties that Russia would view as threat

John Mearsheimer, an American political scientist and international relations scholar, on Sunday said it was important to understand that Russia was effectively at war with NATO, meaning that Europe was also engaged in a conflict with Russia.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Mearsheimer discussed whether international actors were seeking to replicate in Georgia a scenario similar to Ukraine in 2014, including efforts aimed at destabilising the country or overthrowing its government.

According to Mearsheimer, Europe - including European media and political elites - was interested in weakening Russia’s position.

“The West considers it a success to stir up instability in Georgia through a coup d’état or to force the Georgian Government to pursue an anti-Russian policy. The exact same dynamics are at work in Ukraine. Europe is using Ukraine as an instrument to bleed Russia and weaken it”, Mearsheimer said.

He warned that Georgia should act with extreme caution in its relations with the West to avoid being perceived as a threat from Moscow’s perspective.

“I would say that Georgia needs to be very careful not to enter into a relationship with the West that Russians would view as threatening. Because if that happens, Russia will act to create instability inside Georgia. And that is something Georgia does not need in any way”, he concluded.