‘I’ll see your NATO and raise you a WTO’
Georgia’s Mikhail Saakashvili; POOL/AFP/Getty Images Georgia, whose bid to join NATO was put on hold earlier this month thanks to Russian pressure, is now getting back at its unfriendly neighbor to the north by blocking Russia’s membership in the World Trade Organization. While it’s not clear how much Russia’s leaders really care about the WTO, ...
Georgia's Mikhail Saakashvili; POOL/AFP/Getty Images
Georgia, whose bid to join NATO was put on hold earlier this month thanks to Russian pressure, is now getting back at its unfriendly neighbor to the north by blocking Russia’s membership in the World Trade Organization. While it’s not clear how much Russia’s leaders really care about the WTO, this is sure to at least annoy them.
The two countries are locked in an increasingly tense dispute over the status of Georgia’s separatist regions and Russia’s alleged shootdown of a Georgian spy drone. Today, Russia announced it is increasing its peacekeeping force in the Abkhazia reigion and accused Georgia of preparing an attack. Watch this space.
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
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