Georgia Should be a Member of NATO by Now

Georgia should have already become a member of NATO, - stated an American diplomat and former State Department official Matthew Bryza in the "Guest of the Day" program.

According to Bryza, since Georgia is a strategic partner of the United States, its independence from Russia will further strengthen the national security of the United States.

My country's national security becomes stronger when Georgia implements reforms, is secure and independent from Russia, - he said.

The U.S. diplomat considers inappropriate the criticism of the opposition by the "Georgian Dream", according to which the U.S. sanctions are the result of lobbying activities of opponents of the government.

Washington is a place for lobbyists. In America, this system works and when your government criticizes the opposition for successfully using lobbyists, the government in turn should try to do the same. As far as I know, they have their own lobbyists, too. In addition, the government, unlike the opposition, has direct contacts with the executive branch and the Congress. That's the government's advantage. Actually, it shouldn't be difficult for them to convince Washington that they have no ties with Russia, - explained Bryza.

The diplomat also spoke about Georgia's membership in NATO. According to Bryza, at that time, the refusal to grant the MAP to Georgia was a strategic mistake of the Alliance, which eventually worked in the Kremlin's favor.

I think that Georgia should already be a member of NATO after the summit in Bucharest. At that time Georgia was not ready for NATO membership at all, but Georgia should have been given an action plan - MAP. Then it was said in an absolutely pathetic language that Georgia and Ukraine would definitely become NATO members, but not at that time.It was a piece of meat thrown to Putin ... So, I think it was the biggest strategic mistake of the alliance when it was not very clearly stated that Georgia would become a member state, - he said.