Putin should know that Georgia’s integration into NATO depends on Georgian people and alliance’s partners rather than on him – Senator Ben Cardin said when delivering the speech at Security and Cooperation in Europe Commission of US Senate.

According to Cardin, Moscow’s invasion of Georgia demonstrated the Kremlin’s willingness to use military force to unilaterally re-draw European borders and challenge the right of its neighbors to choose their own futures. The war in Georgia set the stage for Vladimir Putin’s subsequent war in Ukraine, including the illegal occupation of Crimea and the Donbas and the attempted annexation of Crimea.

“Putin’s goal is to bring discord into European unity and destroy democratic institutions. We should learn lessons of the history. I am glad that NATO Summit reiterated Bucharest Summit’s decision that Georgia will become a NATO member,” Cardin stated.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia’s reaction to Georgia, Ukraine NATO membership will be extremely negative. “For us, well, it’s a direct and immediate threat for our national security…moving this NATO infrastructure towards our borders would be a threat, and the reaction would be extremely negative,” Putin said in an interview with Fox News.