Teona Akubardia: Membership of Ukraine and Georgia in NATO will ensure the security of the entire Black Sea region

The Black Sea region and the South Caucasus should be a place of security, prosperity and long-term stability with Georgia playing an important role in this region. It is exactly why the country is awaiting the candidate status for NATO membership.

Teona Akubardia, Deputy Head of Defense and Security Committee of the Parliament of Georgia emphasized this idea at the 15^th annual Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s “Open Ukraine” Foundation.

According to her, after the defeat in Ukraine, Russia will try to exercise more pressure on Georgia, trying to enhance its control and influence over the country and the entire region.

“When back in 2008, at the Bucharest summit, Ukraine and Georgia were denied the MAP, Russia saw it as a sign of weakness and soon after it invaded Georgia. Now, after the attack on Ukraine, this issue deserves a more explicit response from the member states of the Alliance. I am certain that when the war ends with the victory of Ukraine, Russian revisionism will not end with the ending of the Putin’s regime. Russia will continue its revisionist foreign policy, striking back,” Ms Akubardia stressed.

The parliamentarian added that the cessation of hostilities and signing agreements never stopped Russia, and it continued waging its wars in hybrid forms. “It is possible that the West lacks a clear understanding that there cannot be peace and security in Europe if Georgia and Ukraine are not NATO members. This is not only about democracy and security in Georgia, it is about the protection of sovereignty principles,” Ms Akubardia said.

She emphasized that the security of the Euro-Atlantic space is impossible without security in the Black Sea region. And this security can be ensured by the membership in the Alliance of both Georgia and Ukraine.

Noteworthy, the 15^th annual Kyiv security forum “For Our and Your Freedom/ Fighting for NATO” will be held on May 25-26, 2023, with the participation of well-known international figures. In particular, at the Forum, the KSF Security Council will be established and a policy document will be adopted with recommendations for the NATO summit in Vilnius to be held this July.