How to accede to either of these organizations without alienating Georgia’s powerful northern neighbor is a challenge that any Georgian leader would have to cope with for years to come, unless, of course, Moscow develops integration options that are more attractive in the eyes of its southern neighbor or, far less likely, joins NATO or the EU itself.

Simon Saradzhyan is a research fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

Image: Flickr: ritingon.