The Georgian government has gone too far, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs told the Georgian editorial office of Voice of America.
In particular, Rinkēvičs answered the question that the declaration of the Washington summit, unlike previous years, no longer repeats the promise that Georgia will become a member of the alliance, even after democratic or defense reforms, as it was previously explained in a number of communiques, what does this mean?
Rinkēvičs claimed that Georgia has decided that they can live without NATO and EU membership.
“This means that the government of Georgia has gone too far, I think that with the “Foreign Agents” law, ignoring all the calls of their own society, the European Union and NATO, they have decided that they can live without NATO and EU membership. Yes, formally Georgia is a candidate country, but let’s face it, we should limit the candidate status to Georgia unless it decides to uphold the common values that we all share. If you don’t, you are not part of this club. This is your sovereign decision”, said President Rinkēvičs.
He claimed that NATO membership is not only a political issue. It is based on criteria.
“There is an excellent document, the 1995 study on NATO enlargement, based on democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights, civilian control of the military and other issues.
If any country wants to become a member of NATO and the European Union and it does not meet the relevant criteria, it is a choice, a sovereign choice of that country. But it is the sovereign choice of the member states not to continue this process.
I hope that Georgia will seriously revise some of its legislation, and if it doesn’t, don’t expect us to discuss the possibility of continuing the process with Georgia.
It does not refer to an irreversible or reversible decision [on candidate countries]. It refers to the fact that the candidate countries must fulfill the criteria and conditions of the organizations they want to be a part of,” he added.
President of Latvia noted that they will not tolerate deviation from common values and agreed policies.”
“This is really Georgia’s choice. Instead of the Georgian people, it is not up to us to decide what kind of country they want to build. Personally, I fully respect any choice that the Georgian people will make in the upcoming elections. Georgian people should look at the offers of different parties.
I don’t want to interfere in Georgia’s politics, but where Latvia has the right to vote – be it in NATO or in the EU, our position is very firm: if the country does not meet the criteria, does not continue on the path of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, then NATO and EU member states can reassess (reassess) ) their cooperation, their aid programs.
We heard that Georgian officials talked about certain challenges in terms of security and defense. If they think that turning away from Euro-integration and Euro-Atlantic integration is the way they will improve their own security, then this is their explanation to the public. I can only say that we are ready to continue cooperation with Georgia and its support, if Georgia is ready to continue to protect the values that we all share.
But I would leave it to the Georgian government to answer the security consequences of this or that decision,” Rinkēvičs added.
