Disinfo: US has no interest to support Georgia's prosperity

Summary

The US has no interest to support Georgia’s prosperity. They principally do not care if Georgia fulfills its conditions of [NATO] integration process… And it is not only about Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Former Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen offered Tbilisi to give up on the claim over these territories as if the Article 5 should not cover them.

Disproof

Recurring Pro-Kremlin narrative on the US and NATO, which aims at sowing mistrust and nihilism in Georgian society towards the West. In 2009 the US and Georgia signed a US-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, which advances bilateral cooperation on priority areas, such as defense and security; economic, trade, and energy issues; people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Read more about US-Georgia relations here. US firmly supports Georgia's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. More about the NATO/US military assistance to Georgia can be found here. As for the narrative about Rasmussen, this is a manipulative interpretation of the former NATO Secretary General's statements. Speaking at the 5th Tbilisi International Conference co-organized by McCain Institute and Economic Policy Research Centre, former NATO Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said [13:07 - 15:00] that in case of Georgia’s accession to the alliance, it should be discussed internally whether Article 5 covers only the territory that is actually controlled by the Georgian government and applies to the occupied territories only after Georgia restores its jurisdiction there. As an illustration, Rasmussen brought an example of Germany, saying that West Germany joined NATO in 1955, while East Germany became a member of the alliance only in 1990, following German reunification. See similar cases here, here, and here.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 170
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 28/10/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Georgian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Georgia, US
  • Keywords: EU/NATO enlargement
see more

Disinfo: Ukrainian autocephalous church is a US project

It is no secret that the creation of this schismatic church formation in Ukraine is an American project aimed at undermining the position of the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church [of the Moscow Patriarchy].

Disproof

A conspiracy theory presented without any evidence. Pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets have frequently attacked the establishment of an autocephalous Ukrainian church. The Constantinople Patriarchy, not the US, decided to grant the autocephaly to the Ukrainian church. The final decision was made in January 2019, when all members of the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate signed off the Tomos of autocephaly. The signing of the Tomos happened after months of careful preparations and considerations by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy Synod.

Disinfo: The US forced the Greek church to recognise Ukrainian autocephaly

The Greek Church decided to recognise the right of the Istanbul Patriarch Bartholomew to grant autocephaly to the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine after pressure from the [US] Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Disproof

A conspiracy theory presented without any supporting evidence. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The process of recognition was initiated by the Orthodox Church of Greece on 8 January 2019, when the Permanent Synod of the Church of Greece decided that the issue of recognition would be dealt by the Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece. In February, the Synod of the Church decided to appoint two commissions to study the issue. In August, the commissions presented a report and recommended to recognise the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. On 12 October, the primate of the church Ieronymos II of Athens and other hierarchs supported the conclusions and voted for the recognition, stating that “the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has the right to granting autocephaly”.

Disinfo: Al-Baghdadi and ISIS sprang up as a result of US actions in the Middle East

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appeared because of the Americans. Without them, he would not have appeared, like ISIS itself.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that US is behind the creation of ISIS/Daesh. This message is part of a broader conspiracy theory alleging that the United States and its NATO partners have established many terrorist organisations and control global terrorism. In fact, the US is part of the global coalition against Daesh. See similar messages about the US being behind terrorist organisations here, here and here.