Estonian Prime Minister Questions Georgia's Commitment to NATO Membership
In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on June 4, Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas expressed her opinion that the Georgian government is not actively pursuing NATO membership.
When asked further about the relationship between Ukraine, Georgia, and NATO, she stated that the two used to go hand in hand. According to Kallas, the reason is that the leadership of Georgia right now does not believe in that [NATO membership], so they do not push that agenda that much. Estonian Prime Minister emphasized, "Even though NATO is a defense alliance, Georgian Prime Minister Garibashvili said that NATO is at fault for the war in Ukraine." She emphasized that neither NATO nor Ukraine had taken any action that would have prompted a Russian assault. "Even Prigozhin stated that the story was incorrect," she added.
When asked how she now views the situation in Georgia, especially in the context of the NATO integration process, the Estonian Prime Minister said, "It is complicated." She added that they [Georgia] widely considered Europe as their future, but this requires reforms. "A complicated relationship exists between the government and the people on the streets," Kallas continued.