`Russia tensions make Nato wary of Georgia bid`: BBC
09.11.11
"Georgia`s President Saakashvili still seeks NATO membership", BBC`s Damien McGuinness says in his story prepared in Georgia`s capital at during the visit of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
"Nato has embraced many former Soviet bloc countries but Georgia remains for now just a partner because of its 2008 war with Russia", the story says.
"Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is visiting Georgia, whose West-leaning government wants to join the alliance and move away from Russia`s sphere of influence.
"Georgia`s 2008 war over the breakaway territory of South Ossetia made Nato wary of taking on a new member that might drag it into a future conflict with Russia.
"Today Russian troops still occupy 20% of Georgia`s territory, says Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili - a situation he describes as "political stalemate".
"It might get worse before it gets better, obviously. But eventually it will get better and we hope to survive as a country until that moment," he told the BBC.
Since the war, Russia and Georgia have had no diplomatic relations. And Mr Saakashvili and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin get on badly - with Mr Putin famously saying he would like Mr Saakashvili hung by his private parts.
"So the prospect of Mr Putin holding onto power in Russia, as he looks set to become president next year, does not bode well for Georgia.
"But the West is also monitoring Georgia`s domestic political scene. Human rights groups accuse Mr Saakashvili`s ruling party of stamping out political opposition, saying that the courts and media are not sufficiently independent of the government.
"Mr Saakashvili denies that his administration monopolises power. He points to how the country has been transformed: petty corruption wiped out and crime rates slashed." the story says.
