After the annexation of Crimea, the fear of a possible outbreak of a crisis like the one in Ukraine is growing in the countries of Eastern Europe, which is why those countries want to join the EU immediately, writes "Standard".
The Minister of European Affairs of Georgia, Aleksi Petriashvili, said in a statement to the Vienna newspaper that his country had already "seen that film". "We went through that in 2008 and unfortunately the EU and US signals to Russia were weaker then than today," he stated for the Vienna newspaper.
After the annexation of Crimea, the situation is different and Russia is more isolated than then, he added. Petriashvili believes that Western sanctions could affect the economic and political establishment in Moscow.
"The Russian leadership may think twice before taking a further aggressive step," he is convinced.
"If the EU does not send a clear signal regarding membership, they could experience a crisis like in Ukraine," warned Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili recently.
The prospect of later EU membership would, according to Georgia, at least lead to a strengthening of society, and Russia would have fewer opportunities to divide the country through economic and political pressure.
As announced, Georgia will sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU already in June, instead of as planned in August, which, according to "Standard", should be a signal to Moscow.
A free trade zone and a customs union with the EU are part of the agreement, and for countries like Ukraine and Armenia, which have close trade relations with Russia, this is problematic, the paper adds.
EU diplomats, according to officials in Georgia, have thus more than crossed the red line.
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