The Russian Foreign Ministry is worried over the strengthening of Georgian-NATO relations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia states that Georgia’s NATO membership “will hurt Russia’s political, economic and strategic interests and will have a negative influence on the Southern Caucasus.” It was decided to start an “intensive dialogue” with Georgia and the NATO member countries during the UN General Assembly. “The increase in the number of NATO member countries will hurt the security of all countries. However, the case with Georgia is different in that it’s going to be closer to Russia due to the regional issues,” as stated in the announcement.
