Commenting on the U.S. President George Bush's pledge Wednesday to back Georgia's bid to join the alliance, Konstantin Kosachev said the move ran counter to the interests of the Georgian people and state as it would "create another wall between Georgia and neighboring countries, including Russia."
Bush told a news briefing ahead of a meeting with his Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Saakashvili, that Georgia had work to do to join the alliance, but promised to help the process.
"I believe that NATO would benefit with Georgia being a member of NATO, and I think Georgia would benefit. And we will work with our partners in NATO to see if we can't make the path a little smoother for Georgia," he said.
"America's promise to support the Georgian authorities on the matter is a political declaration, which will hardly be substantiated with practical steps," Kosachev said, also adding that the South Caucasus state's aspirations were premature due to the poor economy and armed forces, and an immature political system.
But Kosachev said Georgian leaders could step up efforts in this sphere in the short term.
Georgia has been seeking NATO membership since Saakashvili's pro-Western government came to power in 2004. Georgia has to meet challenging membership requirements, which means to reform its political system, armed forces and economy.
The country is implementing the two-year Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) and hopes to have it approved this September and plans to qualify for accession to the Membership Action Plan (MAP), another necessary stage for NATO membership.
Russia opposes NATO's plans to expand further into former Soviet territories, saying the organization had no political or military grounds for such a move.
