Georgia—Waiting for NATO, Waiting for the EU

Becoming part of the Euro-Atlantic structures of NATO and the EU is key to Georgia’s future direction and stability. Since 2012, when the Georgian Dream coalition defeated the party led by then president Mikheil Saakashvili, reforms have lost their momentum, stagnation has set in, and corruption and nepotism have been on the rise, according to a new report by the Center for Eastern Studies. There are disagreements too about Georgia’s relations with Russia.

None of the above has made things easier for Tinatin Khidasheli, who was appointed Georgian defense minister nearly a year ago. In this interview by Judy Dempsey the Minister spoke about about Georgia’s expectations for the July 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw, the security vacuum in the region, and relations with Russia.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Letter From Tbilisi http://www.europeansources.info/record/letter-from-tbilisi/

OSW: Point of View, 22.02.16: Georgian drift. The crisis of Georgia's way westwards http://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/point-view/2016-02-22/georgian-drift-crisis-georgias-way-westwards

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