On July 9, the Ambassador of Georgia to NATO, Viktor Dolidze, said that before the NATO summit in Washington, a framework of a document was developed in Brussels, which would not be as comprehensive as in the case of other summits, and specific details on countries and regions other than Ukraine would not be included in it, although Dolidze was sure that the document would still stipulate the territorial integrity of Georgia, withdrawal of Russian military bases and the plans of future cooperation.
The issue of Georgia was mentioned only once in the NATO Washington declaration, in the context of the call for the withdrawal of forces from the territories occupied by Russia. Unlike the declarations of other summits, it does not contain a statement about Georgia’s future membership in the alliance, an action plan, or a deepening of partnership.
In response, on July 11, Victor Dolidze stated that the communique of the Washington summit, unlike other summits, was not comprehensive and therefore did not include plans related to Georgia:
Viktor Dolidze, Georgia’s Ambassador to NATO: “Although different from the Madrid and Vilnius [communiqué], this was not a comprehensive, detailed final communiqué, where issues related to security or other issues were already written in detail and specifically about each region in relation to the country. It was a short political declaration that did not even have forty chapters, while we had communiqués of 60, 70, 80 [chapters], and more [before]… Therefore, Georgia was not an exception; no future political plans, either for the Alliance and or our country [were reflected]”.
On July 11, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ilia Darchiashvili, made a similar statement. According to him, “the anniversary summit stands out from other summits. It is always more loaded with global political messages, therefore, everything could not be included in this document.”
The claim that the declaration of the Washington summit did not include plans related to specific regions and countries except for Ukraine, and the issue of Georgia could not be included in it due to the lack of content is manipualtive. Several paragraphs in the declaration are devoted to the development of cooperation with specific regions and countries, including issues of support for democratic reforms in Moldova and and deepening of partnership with Bosnia-Herzegovina. Regarding the shortness of the content, the declaration of the Madrid summit mentioned by Viktor Dolidze is even shorter, although Georgia was mentioned in it together with Moldova and Bosnia-Herzegovina, in the context of deepening cooperation in the fields of security and defense.
The NATO Washington summit declaration, which was published on July 10, includes 38 paragraphs (+ 6 additional paragraphs on long-term security support for Ukraine). The largest place in the declaration is occupied by the issue of Ukraine, although it will also touch on the issues of NATO’s future plans and cooperation in other regions. For example, separate paragraphs are devoted to enhancing security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa regions, and include information on specific projects with specific countries. One paragraph is devoted to the Western Balkans and the Black Sea regions, emphasizing their strategic importance and readiness for cooperation, although specific countries are not mentioned.
Georgia is mentioned only once in the declaration in the context of Russian aggression:
“Russia must immediately stop this war and completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its forces from Ukraine in line with UN General Assembly resolutions. We will never recognise Russia’s illegal annexations of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea. We also call on Russia to withdraw all of its forces from the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, stationed there without their consent..”
However, Moldova is not mentioned in the declaration only in this episode. Like Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Alliance supports democratic reforms and emphasizes readiness for cooperation in the fields of security and defense:
“We welcome Moldova’s efforts to continue democratic reforms as it advances, as does Bosnia and Herzegovina, with its European integration, and we are committed to supporting their security and defence capabilities, and to enhance their capacity to counter hybrid threats. We are also strengthening our engagements with existing and potential new interlocutors beyond the Euro-Atlantic area, when doing so could bolster our mutual security.”
As for the claim that the declaration of the Washington summit is shorter compared to the communiqués of other summits and therefore cannot include the issue of deepening the support and cooperation with Georgia, it is worth noting that in the declaration of the 2022 Madrid summit, which consists of 22 paragraphs in total, there was a mention of the deepening of partnership with Georgia, along with Moldova and Bosnia-Herzegovina:
“In light of the changed security environment in Europe, we have decided on new measures to step up tailored political and practical support to partners, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and the Republic of Moldova. We will work with them to build their integrity and resilience, develop capabilities, and uphold their political independence. We will also enhance our capacity-building support to partners from the South.”
As for the more extensive declarations and communiques issued at other NATO summits, they always included one or more paragraphs on Georgia and, in addition to supporting territorial integrity and condemning Russian occupation, included repeating the decision taken at the Bucharest Summit on Georgia’s future membership in NATO, assessing Georgia’s progress towards NATO membership and security, as well as the existing plans for deepening the partnership in the field of defense (Vilnius 2023 Summit Communique, Brussels 2021 Summit Communique, Brussels 2018 Summit Communique, Warsaw 2016 summit communique, Wales 2014 Summit Declaration, Chicago 2012 Summit Declaration, Lisbon Summit 2010 declaration).