NATO condemns Russia for Georgia

by Frank James

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 26 nations completed their meeting today and issued a condemnation of Russia for its recent invasion of Georgia.

Of course, if NATO had proceeded on Georgia's application for NATO in April, perhaps that would've been enough to keep the Russians from invading Georgia in the first place according to no less an expert than former Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns who spoke today at a meeting of the Atlantic Council of the U.S. a non-profit organization devoted to improved U.S.-Europe relations.

Burns said:

"I wish the NATO leaders at Bucharest had taken the decision at Bucharest several months ago, to admit Georgia under the Membership Action Plan. That would've been a very clear signal to the Russians that the Georgians have a right to seek their own future, as do all countries in Europe."

But, alas, NATO didn't make Georgia a membership candidate and the Russians are in Georgia.

Today, NATO reiterated its support for Georgia:

A peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict in Georgia must be based on full respect for the principles of Georgia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity recognised by international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

The nations pledged to help Georgia rebuild infrastructure destroyed by the Russian invasion. Also, notably, the NATO states didn't agree to any punishment of Russia. Instead, they held out the potential that if Russia doesn't leave Georgia, things may go badly for Russia:

The Alliance is considering seriously the implications of Russia's actions for the NATO-Russia relationship. In 2002, we established the NATO-Russia Council, a framework for discussions with Russia, including on issues that divide the Alliance and Russia. We have determined that we cannot continue with business as usual. We call on Moscow to demonstrate - both in word and deed - its continued commitment to the principles upon which we agreed to base our relationship.

At the end of today's statement, NATO did hold out the possibility that, given Russia's behavior, when NATO meets in December it may look more favorably on Georgia's request for NATO membership:

We reaffirmed our commitment to the decisions taken by Heads of State and Government at the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, including those regarding Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and we will continue our intensive engagement with Georgia to address in December the questions pertaining to its Membership Action Plan application, taking into account developments until that time.