Russia says Georgia war stopped NATO expansion

NATO would have expanded by now to admit ex-Soviet republics if Russia had not invaded Georgia in 2008 to defend a rebel region, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.

Moscow has strongly opposed the expansion of the Western military alliance to include former Soviet republics such as Georgia and Ukraine.

NATO promised Georgia eventual membership at a summit in 2008, but enthusiasm for Tbilisi’s entry cooled after the brief war later that year, which saw Russian troops invade Georgia to protect Georgia’s tiny rebel region of South Ossetia.

“If you...had faltered back in 2008, the geopolitical situation would be different now,” Medvedev said in a speech to soldiers at a base in Vladikavkaz, just north of the Georgian border.