Treaty before New Year?
By Messenger Staff
Wednesday, December 24
USA will sign the same type of treaty with Georgia as it signed on December 19 with Ukraine. The documents, presumably, will give extra security guarantees to Kiev and Tbilisi.
This is a clear message for Moscow. Russia has neo-imperialist ambition, and behaves accordingly, so Georgia and Ukraine have moved towards the West to protect themselves from Russian aggression. They are striving to join NATO for the same reason – fear of attack from Moscow.
The EU-brokered ceasefire during the August war stopped the bloodshed, and Georgia should be grateful for that, but later the same EU indulged the Kremlin in return for energy supply guarantees. Moscow also managed to blackmail some of NATO members, possibly the same EU countries it had already nobbled, with the same “convincing argument” - energy transportation! So despite all the efforts of US diplomacy Georgia and Ukraine did not receive their desired umbrellas and appropriate protection.
Georgia and Ukraine have therefore pursued the bilateral agreement option, so far successfully. Time was/is pressing. The Russians were/are considering yet another military adventure in Georgia before the new US Administration gets to work. Some might say that fear has big eyes and the Georgians are exaggerating the threat, as it is presently based on just rumours and supposition. However, as many observers and active participants in recent events have pointed out, Russia is unpredictable. We cannot exclude any possibility. Quite often Russia acts first and thinks later, if at all.
Moscow wants to make the whole world understand that the Caucasus is its sphere of influence and it is the boss in this region. It will not accept any presence here but its own. Now it looks as if the EU is almost ready to accept this, Russia wants more. It insists on the US agreeing to its rules. Let us hope that the West sees the cuddly Russian bear for what it is. By surrendering to Moscow the West and US will undermine democracy, giving a green light to anarchy, aggression and brutality.
US officials don’t hide the fact that treaties with Ukraine and Georgia are signals to Moscow that the world is moving towards democracy. Georgians are emotional people, often at the expense of common sense. They hail the agreement and think it will solve all their problems. But they are caught in the ever-present gap between illusion and reality. US Senator Richard Lugar has already said that the US will not establish its own military bases in Georgia, so the American idea of what a bilateral agreement implies is already very different to what Georgians consider obvious.
The exact details of what the treaty obliges each party to do will be made public later. The guarantees, if any, which Georgia has received are not known yet. Neither do we know exactly when it will be signed, a familiar state of affairs, although before the New Year is suggested. Let us hope that whatever Georgia is so delighted about signing up to bears some resemblance to Georgian dreams.
This is a clear message for Moscow. Russia has neo-imperialist ambition, and behaves accordingly, so Georgia and Ukraine have moved towards the West to protect themselves from Russian aggression. They are striving to join NATO for the same reason – fear of attack from Moscow.
The EU-brokered ceasefire during the August war stopped the bloodshed, and Georgia should be grateful for that, but later the same EU indulged the Kremlin in return for energy supply guarantees. Moscow also managed to blackmail some of NATO members, possibly the same EU countries it had already nobbled, with the same “convincing argument” - energy transportation! So despite all the efforts of US diplomacy Georgia and Ukraine did not receive their desired umbrellas and appropriate protection.
Georgia and Ukraine have therefore pursued the bilateral agreement option, so far successfully. Time was/is pressing. The Russians were/are considering yet another military adventure in Georgia before the new US Administration gets to work. Some might say that fear has big eyes and the Georgians are exaggerating the threat, as it is presently based on just rumours and supposition. However, as many observers and active participants in recent events have pointed out, Russia is unpredictable. We cannot exclude any possibility. Quite often Russia acts first and thinks later, if at all.
Moscow wants to make the whole world understand that the Caucasus is its sphere of influence and it is the boss in this region. It will not accept any presence here but its own. Now it looks as if the EU is almost ready to accept this, Russia wants more. It insists on the US agreeing to its rules. Let us hope that the West sees the cuddly Russian bear for what it is. By surrendering to Moscow the West and US will undermine democracy, giving a green light to anarchy, aggression and brutality.
US officials don’t hide the fact that treaties with Ukraine and Georgia are signals to Moscow that the world is moving towards democracy. Georgians are emotional people, often at the expense of common sense. They hail the agreement and think it will solve all their problems. But they are caught in the ever-present gap between illusion and reality. US Senator Richard Lugar has already said that the US will not establish its own military bases in Georgia, so the American idea of what a bilateral agreement implies is already very different to what Georgians consider obvious.
The exact details of what the treaty obliges each party to do will be made public later. The guarantees, if any, which Georgia has received are not known yet. Neither do we know exactly when it will be signed, a familiar state of affairs, although before the New Year is suggested. Let us hope that whatever Georgia is so delighted about signing up to bears some resemblance to Georgian dreams.