July 16, 2008 - 17:13 AMT
Georgia's joining NATO to cause geopolitical division
Georgia's joining NATO will cause geopolitical division, with further split of Georgia and the entire region, a Russian expert said.

"It is well known that neither Abkhazia nor South Ossetia intends to join NATO and, what is more, Mikheil Saakashvili is not going to seek their consent," Mikhail Alexandrov, head of the Caucasus department at Moscow's Institute for Commonwealth of Independent States, told a news conference in Yerevan.

"It's premature to speak of Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia's independence. As to the other unrecognized republics, namely Nagorno Karabakh and Transnistria, I think Armenia should be the first to recognize Karabakh. Although, reaction of Azerbaijan and international community should be taken into account," he said.

The expert did not rule out that Georgia's President can plunge into a military adventure. Comparing Georgia to Germany in 1939, Alexandrov said, "No one believed that Hitler will attack the Soviet Union but it happened. Actually, subversive-terrorist war against Russian peacekeepers is going on in South Ossetia and its consequences are unpredictable."