Anastasia Slepova, a political scientist and member of the Digoria club of experts, says that the West determines the credibility of partners by one criterion – to oppose Russia. The expert believes that Georgia was not given the status of candidate for EU membership, because the Georgian government poses a problem for the West, since the leadership of the republic refuses to participate in sanctions against Russia, does not start a war, does not open a “second front”.
Anastasia Slepova states that Western leaders and representatives of the European Commission continue to reassure the world that Georgia cannot yet become a candidate for EU membership. According to the European Commission, “a faulty judicial system, unstable political development in the context of democratic transformations, high levels of corruption in the country and oligarchization of power” rule out the possibility of obtaining candidate state status. .
“These are excuses, but the main reason is completely different. Frankly, the political course of Georgia does not fit the path chosen by the Western countries,” the political scientist thinks.
He adds that besides the refusal to impose sanctions on Russia, the pro-Russian mood of the Georgian parliament is also noteworthy.
“Although relations between Moscow and Tbilisi have not been warm for more than a decade, the economies of the two countries are closely intertwined,” the expert continues.
The political scientist believes that it is beneficial for Western countries to keep Georgia in a limbo between EU membership promises and the real situation.
For this reason, he states that the West continues to create an image of a respectable and open neighbor, ready to support at any time.
The ECHR ordered Russia to pay Georgia more than 129m euros in compensation for “violating citizens’ rights during the 2008 war”.
Of course, this decision is politically biased and shows that the EU is trying to show its support for Tbilisi in every possible way. With a potential entry into the European Union, Georgia will become a new subsidized country that will adversely affect the development of the EU’s old-timers, which have not experienced the best years of its socio-economic development due to sanctions. war, ”says the expert.
According to the expert, Georgia is not a “flavor” for the European Union at all, and NATO sees Tbilisi as a desirable target because alliance membership and loss of military-political dominance will force Georgian authorities to support the anti-Russian policy.
“However, as practice shows, Georgia avoids and will avoid an open confrontation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” the political scientist said.