Georgian Studies specialist: Georgia's joining NATO is a danger for Russia (video)
Russian-Georgian war began ten years ago this day, which lasted for 5 days. On the the 10th anniversary of the so called "August war," Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated that Georgia's accession to NATO would have catastrophic consequences. Georgian Studies specialist Joni Melikyan considers Medvedev's statement symbolic. "This old idea, which is regularly voiced by Russia, was once again aimed at showing Tbilisi and Brussels that all such actions will not remain unanswered," Joni Melikyan told "A1 +." The expert believes that Georgia's membership to NATO will last long, and a security environment in the region will be changed after joining them, and Russia is trying to prevent it. Georgia wants to become NATO member for security guarantees. Joni Melikyan is convinced that after receiving this guarantee, the security environment of other countries in the region, including Armenia, will also change. "We are a member of the CSTO, we have a Russian military base, we have deep strategic relations with Russia, and today there is neighbor Turkey, which is a member of NATO, there is Iran, which already has serious problems and America restored sanctions against it," the Georgian Studies specialist said. According to Georgian Studies specialist, the strained relations between Russia and Georgia will have a direct impact on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, but there will be no military actions. Joni Melikyan is sure that the changes in the region will not affect the Armenian-Georgian relations. The cooperation between the two countries will continue.
