A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman says NATO has not learned the lessons of recent events in the South Caucasus.
Ministry official Aleksandr Lukashevich was reacting to a September 6 statement made by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen during a visit to Tbilisi, in which he said Georgia's "future home is in NATO."
Lukashevich told journalists that "such statements show NATO still has not learned the lessons of the tragic events of 2008 in the South Caucasus and continues to send Tbilisi 'ecouraging' signals."
Lukashevich said Moscow believes talk of Georgia's possible NATO membership does not strengthen regional security and encourages Georgia's leadership in its "unwillingness to recognize the political reality in the region."
Following the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, Moscow recognized the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Ministry official Aleksandr Lukashevich was reacting to a September 6 statement made by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen during a visit to Tbilisi, in which he said Georgia's "future home is in NATO."
Lukashevich told journalists that "such statements show NATO still has not learned the lessons of the tragic events of 2008 in the South Caucasus and continues to send Tbilisi 'ecouraging' signals."
Lukashevich said Moscow believes talk of Georgia's possible NATO membership does not strengthen regional security and encourages Georgia's leadership in its "unwillingness to recognize the political reality in the region."
Following the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, Moscow recognized the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
