CONFLICTS "NOT AN OBSTACLE FOR NATO INTEGRATION" SAYS GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER
By Christina Tashkevich
The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 21 2007
The German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier said
Monday the existence of conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia would
not necessarily prove an obstacle to Georgia’s accession to NATO.
"NATO and its members are of course interested that new members do not
bring new conflicts to NATO. But it does not mean that the existence
of these conflicts can be viewed as an obstacle of any kind, for in
this case we would give the third party an opportunity to hinder this
process," he said at the press conference Monday.
The Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili said Monday that a
NATO mission is currently in Georgia to assess Georgia’s progress in
the implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan and will
present its recommendations to the alliance members. Bezhuashvili
noted that Georgia can rely on Germany as a trustworthy partner on
Georgia’s accession to NATO.
Bezhuashvili said the sides also reviewed the issues of Georgia’s
regional cooperation with Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia, as well as
Georgian-Russian relations and Germany’s role in their normalization.
The Georgian minister noted that Germany sees a positive dynamic in
the Georgian economy in terms of attracting investments, and that
German investors show an increasing level of interest towards Georgia.
Steinmeier said that after the incorporation of Bulgaria and Romania
into the European Union, the organization enlarged to include the
Black Sea region as well.
"As a whole, the challenge before us is to achieve rapprochement of
Georgia and the South Caucasus with the European Union," Steinmeier
said.
Talking about the conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the German
minister reaffirmed that the only way to resolve the conflicts is
through dialogue and mutual confidence. He noted that Germany is
interested that the conflicts in the immediate vicinity of the EU
borders are resolved peacefully.
"We envision only a political way to resolve the conflicts and I am
confident actors involved in this process can see no alternative,"
he said.
Steinmeier also talked about Russia’s political position that Kosovo
may become a precedent for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, saying Kosovo
cannot be a new model based on the principles of international law.
"Kosovo is an isolated case and I don’t think this model can be
exactly copied on Georgia," he added.