The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held its 31st summit in Brussels on June 14.

There is still no consensus in the Alliance to invite Georgia and Ukraine to NATO. And this happens despite the experience of 2008 and the fact that since then Russia's policy towards its neighbors and the entire civilized world is becoming increasingly aggressive.

Former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, now the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), Ben Hodges said that the cooperation between NATO and Georgia in the Black Sea region, in response to Russia’s increasingly destabilising activities, is inadequate.

As he told the Accent, it reflects a lack of a strategy for the greater Black Sea region.

“Neither NATO nor the U.S. has a strategy for the region. Therefore, we don’t have adequate policy for Georgia or Ukraine or Moldova or, frankly, for Turkey. We are of course very unhappy with what the Kremlin is doing in Georgia and the rest of the Black Sea region. But Russia will stop what it is doing only when it is stopped,” Hodges said.

According to the NATO Brussels summit communiqué, “Russia’s aggressive actions constitute a threat to Euro-Atlantic security.“

When asked, “when Russia is considered such a threat, how adequate are NATO's steps to deter Russia?”, Hodges said: “This of course remains to be seen.”

“NATO has done a good job of improving its capabilities within NATO territory. However, we as NATO and also as the U.S. have not done a good, consistent job of communicating to the Kremlin that its aggression in Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere are unacceptable. So, until we demonstrate to the Kremlin that we are really serious and that the Russian Federation leadership will face real consequences, then I expect them to continue their behavior,” he said.

As for the issue of the invitation of Georgia to NATO, Hodges said that “Georgia should already be in the Alliance.”

“This current situation is a reflection of the fear of some NATO countries of a Kremlin reaction - a reluctance to “provoke” Russia. I think this is the wrong mindset. The Kremlin does not need provocation. It does what it wants unless it is stopped or if it sees that we are serious. We need a Black Sea strategy, which means we need a Russian strategy. Then we can have meaningful policies for Georgia.” he said

“I think the USA must strengthen/affirm its bilateral relationships with Georgia and with Ukraine before we can convince Germany and France that Georgia should be in NATO,” he added.