Georgia, Tbilisi, Oct. 31 / Trend , N.Kirtskhalia /
Georgia will not receive a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for the country at the NATO Summit in Chicago in May 2012, former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze believes.
NATO Special Representative for South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai stated this in a recent interview, Mr. Shevardnadze said in an interview with the Georgian weekly Asaval-Dasavali.
"NATO does not share Georgia's optimism in its rapprochement with the alliance, as evidenced by Mr. Appathurai's statement in Tbilisi that the alliance will carefully monitor the parliamentary elections in Georgia in 2012 and presidential elections in 2013. This indicates that the prospect of Georgia's accession to NATO moving away,"Mr. Shevardnadze said.
He said the figure of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin plays not the least role in addressing this issue. "Nobody wants to spoil relations with a superpower like Russia, with which NATO has a special relationship and that says a lot," he added.
Mr. Shevardnadze reiterated that Georgia, not improving relations with Russia, cannot achieve anything in foreign policy.
"Mr. Putin will administer Russia and I hope that billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili's coming to power in Georgia will give us the dialogue with Russia, because this businessman has a lot of leverage for a successful dialogue with Russia," he stressed.
He said Mr. Ivanishvili's appearance enlivened society in Georgia, and he was able to enlist the support of the United States and Western Europe.
"The meetings with the ambassadors of these countries are evidence to the interest in him," he said, noting that if the Georgian authorities continue to hinder the efforts of the billionaire Ivanishvili, it may break into the civil war.