The Georgian Foreign Ministry condemned Moscow's demand that NATO revoke the 2008 Bucharest Summit agreement, which said that Georgia and Ukraine will ultimately join the alliance, as unacceptable.

The Russian Foreign Ministry (MID) stated, "in the basic interests of European security, it is important to openly repudiate the 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit resolution that Ukraine and Georgia would become NATO members."

Moscow's demands were spelled out in a long MID statement, which stated that NATO partners' agreement at the 2008 Bucharest Summit to not increase security at the expense of other governments, including Russia, violated their commitment to the OSCE.

Russia would press for "real long-term guarantees" that "exclude any further NATO encroachment to the east and the deployment of menacing military systems along Russia's western borders," according to the MID. The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that "to reduce tensions in Europe," NATO would have to respond to their proposals, which included limiting allied forces' exercises to an agreed-upon distance from Russia and coordinating warship and aircraft approach distances in the Baltic and Black Sea regions.

The announcement comes as Russian military forces build up near Ukraine's borders, and Western officials, including US President Joe Biden, have warned Moscow of "grave repercussions" if it invades the country. Moscow accused Western countries of "pumping" Ukraine with weaponry to "intensify confrontation" with Russia, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry. Relations between Russia and the West "continue to worsen and have reached a crucial stage," according to Moscow.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry warned that "any comment by a third party on reconsidering the Bucharest Summit decision is inadmissible" and in violation of international law. It stressed that the Bucharest decision was reached via consensus among NATO member states, and that this has been reaffirmed at each subsequent NATO Summit. It referred to the 2021 Brussels Summit communiqué, which said that any third party interfering with other nations' ability to choose their foreign policy course was unacceptable.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry stated that it is part of the country's "sovereign choice to join NATO," which is based on the people's steadfast will. “Georgia's Constitution also reflects this goal."

In response to the MID statement, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated the Alliance's previous position that it "cannot accept that Russia is attempting to re-establish a system where big powers like Russia have spheres of influence, where they can control or decide what other members can do."

“We are going to sit down, talk with Russia, but not compromise on the right of every nation in Europe to decide their own path,” said the NATO chief on December 10 in Brussels during a joint press conference with newly appointed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.