Georgia, a good student of NATO, is fighting for its place in the Alliance, from the Black Sea to Afghanistan

(B2 in Tbilisi) Important week for Georgia, as part of its efforts to get closer to NATO. The army organized a NATO exercise of staff: a first for a country not member of the Alliance, greeted in particular by a visit of the secretary general. B2 was there to better understand Tbilisi's approach.

Georgia, a good student of NATO

A unique exercise

All week, the Georgians have been working on a staff exercise relating to a crisis outside Article V. About forty of their officers, accompanied by about forty others from NATO countries, but also Azerbaijan and Sweden, simulated the command of a brigade on a humanitarian intervention in Africa. In reality, it was on the organization of the exercise that the Georgians were evaluated: it is the first time that a country outside NATO has organized a NATO exercise. The result of 18 months of preparation, largely supervised by mentors from the Alliance. Summary of the challenge by a French commander: “ It is an ultra-performing club. It was already complicated for us. »

Georgian efforts

Georgia's desire to join NATO has its roots shortly after its independence in 1994, when it joined the Partnership for Peace. A multitude of mechanisms have since been put in place to modernize the Georgian army and make it interoperable with the Alliance. Most high-potential officers go through military schools and war schools in allied countries. In 2008, shortly before the start of the war, Georgia expressly expressed its desire to join NATO. Since then, despite the tensions on the spot, the members of the Alliance keep repeating, summit after summit, that Tbilisi is destined to join them.

Afghan sacrifice

To show their good will, the Georgians participate as much as they can in international operations, from the Central African Republic to Iraq via Kosovo. Their main commitment remains Afghanistan, where they constantly point out that they have the largest contingent, in proportion to their population, within the NATO operation Resolute Support. 33 soldiers died and several hundred were injured in this theater, in what Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze presents as the " sacrifice "Georgians" to combat international terrorism ».

The Black Sea, strategic crossroads

Since the annexation of Crimea, the Black Sea is a territory that increasingly concerns NATO countries. Georgia is aware of this and is also offering its help here. In the absence of a military navy, Tbilisi intends to develop a deep-water port in Anaklia, a border town with Abkhazia (182 of the 310km of coastline are occupied, according to a source within the border guards). Infrastructure that should make it possible to accommodate the Alliance's ever-increasing number of warships, but also to develop trade with key partners in the region: Romania and Bulgaria.

“A unique NATO partner”

This was ultimately the message conveyed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during his visit to Tbilisi on Monday (March 25): Georgia is a unique NATO partner. Georgians are showing their ability to work side by side with their allies and partners. We will continue to work together to prepare Georgia for full membership."

Lire: NATO reaffirms its support for Ukraine and Georgia

Unable to integrate

Lack of consensus

However, the feasibility of concrete progress in the integration process remains unlikely, which the Georgian authorities willingly admit. Several sources mention Germany, France and the Netherlands among the most recalcitrant. " If we could convince these three countries, the others will follow “Said a senior Georgian Defense Ministry official. For them, a dilemma remains difficult to resolve: in the event of Georgia's integration into NATO, would Article V apply retroactively to the occupied territories of South Ossetia and Georgia?

Bilateral cooperation

Tbilisi now intends to strengthen its bilateral cooperation with the countries concerned, in order to gain their confidence. With Paris, for example, a major project was completed in the fall of 2018, thanks to the supply of anti-aircraft defense equipment provided by Thales and MBDA. With the Germans, more operational cooperation has been set up in Afghanistan with the presence of a Georgian detachment alongside them in Mazar-e-Sharif.

Popular support

The Georgian government is pleased in any case with the significant support of the population for the integration of their country both within the European Union (+/- 85% favorable opinion according to the NDI institute) and within the Atlantic Alliance (+/- 80%). Young people, in particular, are enthusiastic about this idea, in the face of opponents who are often older and sometimes nostalgic for the Soviet era. Tbilisi has made integration with the West the top priority on its political agenda.

The Russian Enemy

Informal diplomatic dialogue

Relations with Russia remain tense. Diplomatic dialogue has not been restored. Exchanges exist all the same thanks to the meeting between the special envoys of the two countries, three to four times a year, in Prague. However, Moscow permanently refuses to position itself, considering that Tbilisi's legitimate interlocutors are the authorities – not recognized by the majority of countries – of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Anxious to show its goodwill, Georgia has re-established easy access to its territory for Russian entrepreneurs and tourists. She accuses Moscow of refusing reciprocity.

A hardening of the border

Russia, however, remains identified by the Georgian authorities as the main threat. In Tbilisi, not one interlocutor denounces a worsening of the situation since 2008: kidnappings of Georgian nationals (in reality, arrests by local forces, which have regularly degenerated), reinforcement of the Russian military presence (7000 men, notably deployed in 38 border guard camps) and hardening of the border with ultra-modern equipment (thermal cameras, shielding).

Renunciation, a red line

Couldn't Georgia go ahead, simply renouncing, at least temporarily, these two territories? This is a hypothesis that had notably been considered by researchers from the Heritage Foundation, very prolific on this topic. No question, we are assured in Tbilisi where such a renunciation is perceived as a red line. " It would be political suicide “Said a senior official of the Ministry of Defense.

(Romain Mielcarek)