Response by the Russian MFA Information and Press Department to a Media Question about the Outcome of the Visit to Georgia by the North Atlantic Council

Question: How does Russia feel about the outcome of the North Atlantic Council visit to Georgia?

Answer: We consider that, in today's conditions, its visit to Tbilisi was inopportune and inconsistent with the interests of stabilizing the situation in the region. The decisions taken at the end of the visit have borne out that Cold War reflexes had again worked in NATO on the "ours-theirs" principle.

Instead of drawing serious conclusions regarding Mikhail Saakashvili's failed attempt to resolve the long-standing conflict by force, NATO has once again demonstrated its support for the disinformation campaign launched by him and made advances in terms of restoration of the military potential of the country.

We can only regard the moves to upgrade NATO's relations with Georgia as encouraging Tbilisi to take new gambles. We well remember the assurances given to us that granting Georgia the so called Intensified Dialogue would enable working "more effectively" with Saakashvili and keeping him from irresponsible actions. Where this led to, is well known.

After the Tbilisi meeting, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer went at the Georgian authorities' prompting to Gori. The anti-Russian tilt of this action is obvious. It's a pity that to obtain a more objective picture of the early August events his program did not include a calling at Tskhinval, where he could have seen firsthand the tragic consequences of the night's shelling of civilians by the Georgian army.

September 17, 2008