In an exclusive interview with "Europe Time," Matthew Bryza, a former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, congratulated Georgia's leaders, both in government and opposition, on reaching an agreement yesterday that, if implemented, will hopefully end the country's political crisis.
I was worried a few days ago when the EU made it clear in its public statement that they had lost patience with Georgia because Georgian political leaders were unable to resolve an internal dispute and it is not possible, in such circumstances, for Georgia to move any closer to membership in either the European Union or NATO for that matter.
As we know, NATO is the alliance of democracy, and if democracy is not functioning, it can never join Nato. I think it is really good that the agreement was reached under the leadership of the European Union because the European Union is skilled at figuring out how to come up with a compromise among 27 member states who have to agree. So everybody has to compromise when there is decision-making in the European Council, for example. Compromise means nobody gets everything at once, but both sides get something, and that is what happened with this agreement.
I think that it is great that the agreement calls for substantial electoral and political reforms, and if the government does not implement these issues, then we could return to a crisis. But for now, the commitment the government has made is important. Now the US and the EU will watch carefully.
One more important point is that I do not believe that this agreement is a sign that the EU will be more active now or NATO will be more eager to accept Georgia as a member because of the political crisis. So now, some time is needed to fully implement the agreement by both the government and the opposition. Time is needed for the EU and NATO to see that Georgia's democracy is operating normally, "-Matthew Bryza said.
