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Disinfo: If Georgia joins NATO, its territory will be annexed by Turkey

Summary

While Washington sees Georgia as a platform for confrontation with Iran and Russia, Turkey sees this neighbouring republic as an integral part of its country. Turkey may take advantage of NATO’s expansion in its own interest. In the context of neo-Ottomanism, pan-Turkism and president Erdogan’s foreign policy, the Georgian territory of Adjara is considered an integral part of Turkey and they are doing everything to annex it through economic expansion and political submission. If Georgia becomes a NATO member, Ankara will manage to deploy its armed forces to the country and there won’t be any legal aspect that can prevent it. This will mean the Turkish occupation of Georgian territory, and the US will be on the side of Turkey.

Disproof

Conspiracy theory advancing pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about NATO.

Turkey recognised Georgia as an independent state right after its independence from the Soviet Union and supports its territorial integrity. Both countries are strong economic partners, maintain excellent relations and cooperate in long-scope projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

Read more about NATO-Georgia cooperation.

You can see other examples of disinformation narratives on NATO, such as claims that it manipulated the coronavirus crisis into a sort of armed conflict, that its partnership with Ukraine is actually a colonial relationship, that it is preparing a large scale military conflict in the Black Sea, that it pays Belarusian opposition 1$ for each person infected with coronavirus, that it is a tool of global capitalism based in white supremacist ideology, that it is such a disaster that the US didn’t want its help after 9/11 attacks, or that paid agents of the Atlantic Alliance meddled in the referendum on constitutional amendments in Russia.

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publication/media

News Front - Spanish
  • Reported in: Issue 205
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 07/07/2020
  • Language/target audience: Spanish, Castilian
  • Country: Turkey, US, Georgia
  • Keywords: EU/NATO enlargement, Sovereignty, NATO

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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There was a coup d’ etat in Ukraine in 2014

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the events in Crimea in 2014 were not the main reason for the deterioration in relations between Moscow and Washington. As he noted, there was first a coup d’ etat in Ukraine and a seizure of power. From that moment on, the views and the relations between Russia and the new Ukrainian leadership became diametrically opposed. Then, the United States under President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Moscow after the events concerning the annexation of Crimea and bilateral relations worsened sharply.

 

 

July 12, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative painting the 2013-14 Ukrainian revolution as a coup d'etat which led Crimean citizens to rejoin Russia through a legal referendum. However, there was no coup d' etat in Ukraine. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was a reaction by numerous parts of the Ukrainian population to former President Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013.

On 26 February 2014, the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government. The next day a referendum was announced and a vote was held on March 16, 2014, in the Peninsula of Crimea. The territory was then controlled by Russian forces, though neither Ukrainian nor Russian election code was observed.

The EU did not give any attention and support to Italy, where people were dying without any help

The EU did not support Italy. There was simply a terrible situation in the north of the county, people were dying without getting any help. Here we see the noble acts of the President of Russia, who sent military doctors, virologists, a huge amount of medical equipment, ventilation machines. The global epidemic displayed the need for international cooperation, and Russia provided the worst struggling countries with humanitarian aid.

July 12, 2020
Disproof

Speculative claim about "abandoned Italy" and that the EU left Italy to fight coronavirus alone. This claim exploits the coronavirus pandemic to push a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the West's crumbling solidarity. While Russia did sent a military team to Italy, there are numerous examples of solidarity in the Western world, including among the EU and individual Member States as follows.

The European Commission has approved a €50 million Italian aid scheme to support the production and supply of medical devices, as well as to help Italy provide the necessary medical treatment to those infected. On March 18th, the European Union also received a Chinese aid package, including masks and 50,000 testing kits that were fully allocated to Italy, as Rome faced the most urgent needs among member states in the coronavirus crisis. On March 13th, the European Union proposed a Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative, envisaging EUR 835 million for Italy. On March 26th, the European Parliament unanimously approved the initiative.

Representatives of Polish Government simply hate Russia and the Russians

The comments of Żaryn [Press Secretary of the Minister for Special Services Coordination] show that he and people like him have no interest in any kind of political discussion between Warsaw and Moscow. The problem is much deeper – these people simply hate Russia, the Russians and everything that is Russian. It is classical xenophobia and dehumanization of a specific group of people because of their nationality. In many countries, such statements are punished as they incite interethnic conflicts. In Poland, they close their eyes at such cases if they are aimed against the Russians.

July 12, 2020
Disproof

This message is a part of the Kremlin's widespread narrative about Russophobic Poland. The Kremlin-controlled media regularly accuses the political elites of Poland of Russophobia and the implementation of anti-Russian policies.

The Polish authorities do not “hate Russia, the Russians and everything that is Russian” – also, they do not "dehumanize" the Russians as an ethnic group. This claim has a clearly manipulative and propagandist character.