Challenges to the Security of the South Caucasus Countries and NATO - 2016: Page 2 of 9
19 July, 2016
the final communique, which for the first time in the history of summits was quite " thick" and more specific compared to previously adopted documents (about 139 items)... For the first time during the recent decades, European Union and NATO came to a consensus and adopted a common declaration, where they expressed their common position on common problems within the frameworks of transatlantic security and agreed on plans for further strategic cooperation between the organizations. Most importantly, the representatives of both organizations expressed common approach towards the threats emanating from the East and South (i.e. from Russia and DAISH). The Alliance identified three geostrategically special regions at this stage for more active actions in the context of strategic defense and deterrence (defense and deterrence). Those became the basic questions of this summit: the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. In general, NATO returned to collective security strategy.
Sergey Markedonov - I do not think that Warsaw NATO Summit has opened any new tendencies or was a turning point, both in the context of the Transcaucasia ( or more broadly the Bleak Sea), and in the context of the relations between Russia and the West. NATO and individual Allies are not prepared to consider the territory of the former USSR as a region where Russia dominates. And this standpoint has not changed. Concerning NATO enlargement, I do not think that Georgia and Ukraine are cases with nearest prospects.
Hanna Shelest - This is an especially important moment for our region. For the past two years, we could mostly hear about the security of NATO and EU members that was fully focused on strengthening the capacity within the Alliance borders. In this document, for the first time, it was clearly stated that the organizations will work together on resistance to the threats to their partners, recognizing that in the context of current threats, the security of the partners and the member states are inextricably connected.
Sergey Markedonov - And yet, declarations and statements cannot be regarded as the only arguments. It is important that they be verified by the life itself. Only practice will show the extent to which NATO and EU members are ready to consider the security of the partners as their own.
Hayk Martirosyan - Interestingly, there was no decision to invite those two states (Ukraine and Georgia) to join the Alliance, which can be explained by some caution in terms of this very important for Russia issue. Considering all this, we can say that NATO is attempting to isolate and deter Russia, in whom it sees its main enemy, but at the same time considers it premature to provoke a new international political crisis, which will necessarily arise if these two states join the alliance. As for Armenia – the country was mentioned with a number of former Soviet republics, territorial integrity and sovereignty of which NATO urges to respect in its final communiqué. This is certainly good for Armenia, if to dismiss one very important thing. Azerbaijan appears in the same list,
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