NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's visit to
In connection with the visit, two main aspects are to be identified; the problem of
Naturally,
NATO Secretary General, probably, referred to the package of special measures provided in
As for NATO-Georgia joint training center, then it is already on the agenda for about a year. The opening of the center was the component of the special package given to
It is noteworthy that the visit of NATO's Head was considered by the Georgian side as the best time to organize a loud opening of the training center, without taking into consideration the important fact that the basic structures for the construction or reconstruction of some facilities have not even begun. In other words, although opened, the center is still unlikely to be able to fully serve its long-term goal, that is to contribute to Georgia, as well as NATO member and partner countries by organizing military trainings.
In this regard, Georgian Chief of General Staff Vakhtang Kapanadze has already announced that all the infrastructures of the joint training center must be created in stages, and according to him such haste is connected with the desire to start training a day before.
It can be only assumed, what was the real reason and repercussions of opening the center in haste. However, on the one hand, by the opening ceremony the authorities tried to lift their rating, taking into consideration the campaign of parliamentary elections, which will start in September, on the other hand, they tried to show the long-awaited progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as to disperse the public concerns connected with the movement of signs on Georgian-South Ossetian border.
It is noteworthy that there were clear concerns of the Georgian leadership because of possible reaction of Russia. It is also expressed in Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s speech, who stressed that NATO military base should not be confused with the training center. Moreover, he emphasized that the center will contribute to regional security.
However, as expected, Moscow does not agree with such training center qualifications. The representative of while the very center - as a "serious destabilizing factor for regional security." The Russian side has even made parallels with the events of 2008, warning about the possible consequences.
Summing up Stoltenberg's visit to Georgia, we can note that despite the Euro-Atlantic prospects remained dim, and Russia acquired a new reason for concern, nevertheless the opening of the center, even in a symbolic way, is an important event for the region, because it became a new component of the security of South Caucasus architecture which must be taken into account from now.