GEORGIA: RUSSIA A “THREAT,” TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN “PARTNERS,” ARMENIA “GOOD NEIGHBOR”
by Joshua Kucera

EurasiaNet.org
Jan 11 2012
NY

Georgia has released its new “National Security Concept” document,
updating it from the 2005 version which said there was “little
possibility of open military aggression against Georgia.” Now,
unsurprisingly, Russia dominates the document (pdf): of the twelve
“Threats, Risks and Challenges to the National Security of Georgia”
it identifies, ten are tied to Russia and its role in the breakaway
territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Equally unsurprisingly, the U.S. tops the list in the document’s
section on “Strengthening foreign relationships.” But the rest of the
list is interesting to peruse. Ukraine is the second country mentioned,
ranking as a “strategic partner.” Turkey is next, as “Georgia’s
leading partner in the region,” with cooperation in trade, energy
and military spheres. It then cites the importance of relations with
“Central and Southeast European and Scandinavian states,” as well as
Moldova and Belarus, but for whatever reason doesn’t mention Western
Europe at all (though of course the EU and NATO as organizations are
prominently featured). There is a whole paragraph on Latin America
and the Caribbean, but no mention of France, Germany, the UK? No
doubt the Western European reluctance to admit Georgia into NATO is
the major factor there.

Elsewhere in the region, Azerbaijan is called a “strategic partner”
while Armenia is cited for its “good neighborly relations and mutually
beneficial cooperation.” Russia here, too, is of course the factor,
according to Georgian political analyst Soso Tsintsadze: “Armenia
cannot be a strategic partner of Georgia and Russia simultaneously.”

And while just a year ago it seemed that relations between Tbilisi and
Tehran were warming quite a bit, now Iran is only barely mentioned,
in the section on economic cooperation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress