Follow us on social

US defense chief offers show of support to Georgia

US defense chief offers show of support to Georgia

The visit comes amid a rocky patch in relations between the two partners, and in the middle of a heated election campaign.

Analysis | Europe

The United States secretary of defense has visited Georgia and pledged a new level of military cooperation, even as the Georgian government is increasingly coming under criticism from Washington for its drift toward illiberalism and authoritarianism.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, on an October 18 visit to Tbilisi, announced a new Georgia Defense and Deterrence Enhancement Initiative, which he told reporters would represent “an exciting new phase of bilateral security cooperation between our countries.”

Military aid already makes up a significant portion of the U.S.’s total aid package to Georgia, which is one of the largest aid recipients in the former Soviet Union: the $146 million in U.S. assistance it is projected to receive in 2020 puts it second only to Ukraine, which has more than 10 times the population. Of that $146 million, more than half – $76 million – is slated for security assistance, according to official U.S. data.

In 2017, the U.S. approved the sale, long sought by Georgia, of anti-tank Javelin missiles. The two countries regularly carry out large-scale military exercises in Georgia, and thousands of Georgian soldiers have been trained by U.S. forces. In 2020, the Pentagon allocated $10 million to train and equip Georgian special forces troops.

It was not immediately clear how the new program would add to the existing military cooperation. But the show of support from Austin was significant, coming amid a rocky patch in relations between Tbilisi and Washington.

In recent months U.S. officials have become increasingly critical of Georgia’s government. U.S. ambassador to Tbilisi Kelly Degnan in July said she was “exasperated” by the government’s withdrawal from a deal aimed at easing political tensions that had been painstakingly brokered by Tbilisi’s Western allies. And the State Department this summer hinted that it was considering imposing some kind of sanctions against Georgian officials following large-scale, government-endorsed right-wing pogroms against LGBT activists and journalists.

But Austin’s visit is a reminder that military relationships often transcend politics and questions of democracy and human rights. Ahead of his visit, Pentagon officials said the trip was intended as a show of support for Georgia’s firmly pro-Western, anti-Russia foreign policy orientation.

"We are reassuring and reinforcing the sovereignty of countries that are on the frontlines of Russian aggression," an unnamed senior defense official said, according to a Defense Department news release. Georgia was the first stop on Austin’s trip, which also was scheduled to include stops in Ukraine, Romania, and a NATO summit in Brussels.

Austin did allude to Georgia’s democratization in his public remarks. “The Georgian government must do its part by leveraging U.S. support to strengthen Georgia’s democracy and to make fundamental reforms to bring Georgia even closer to the West,” he said at a joint press conference with Georgian Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze.

By far the greater emphasis of the visit, however, was on security and foreign policy issues. Austin reiterated Washington’s support for Georgia’s stalled aspirations to join NATO and denounced Russia’s “occupation” of Georgian territory (referring to Moscow’s heavy financial and political support for the self-proclaimed governments of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in what is largely internationally recognized as Georgian territory).

The visit came during a period of heightened political tension in the country, following shortly after the arrest of opposition leader and former president Mikheil Saakashvili and just ahead of a second round of local elections, scheduled for October 30.

All mainstream political forces in Georgia embrace a strongly pro-Western, anti-Russian foreign policy orientation. The opposition nevertheless accuses the ruling Georgian Dream party and its leader Bidzina Ivanishvili of being Russian stooges and has tried to frame politics in the country as a geopolitical struggle, a West-vs-Russia proxy battle.

“Let us stand together with the Georgian people against the Ivanishvili regime, which is dragging our homeland into Putin's Russia,” Saakashvili said in a message written for an October 14 rally in Tbilisi calling for his release. “We must not let this happen, and we must put Georgia back on the path to the West.”

Whatever resonance that message may have had, it was undercut by Austin’s warm rapport with ruling party officials, led by hardline Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

https://twitter.com/SecDef/status/1450076525894717445?s=20

"Your visit is a very strong message from the United States in support of our territorial integrity and sovereignty," Garibashvili told Austin.

Austin also gave a boost to Georgia’s opposition to a newly proposed “3+3” regional grouping, promoted by Turkey in the wake of last year’s war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The format would include the three countries of the South Caucasus and their three big neighbors: Russia, Iran, and Turkey. All six countries have endorsed the idea save Georgia, which objects to the group’s inclusion of Russia and exclusion of “Western” countries.

Austin was asked about the 3+3 proposal at the press conference.

“Russia, which currently occupies 20 percent of Georgia’s territory, should focus on honoring its 2008 ceasefire commitments before promoting any new discussion platforms,” he said, referring to the agreement ending that year’s war over South Ossetia. Russia has not withdrawn its armed forces from Abkhazia and South Ossetia as stipulated in that agreement. “We certainly encourage the countries of the South Caucasus to work together to resolve disputes and to strengthen regional cooperation,” Austin added.

This article has been republished with permission from Eurasianet.


Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III is greeted by Georgian Minister of Defense Juansher Burchuladze, Georgian Chief of Defense, Major General Giorgi Matiashvili and U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnam in Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct. 18, 2021. (DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley)|Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III is greeted by Georgian Minister of Defense Juansher Burchuladze, Georgian Chief of Defense, Major General Giorgi Matiashvili and U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnam in Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct. 18, 2021. Along with Georgia, Austin will visit allies in Ukraine, Romania to reaffirm U.S. support for sovereignty and territorial integrity and underscore the importance of the strategic partnerships in addressing regional and global security challenges. Austin will also travel to Brussels, Belgium to participate in the NATO Defense Ministerial. (DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley)
Analysis | Europe
Kim Jong Un
Top photo credit: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of the Ragwon County Offshore Farm, North Korea July 13, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS

Kim Jong Un is nuking up and playing hard to get

Asia-Pacific

President Donald Trump’s second term has so far been a series of “shock and awe” campaigns both at home and abroad. But so far has left North Korea untouched even as it arms for the future.

The president dramatically broke with precedent during his first term, holding two summits as well as a brief meeting at the Demilitarized Zone with the North’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Unfortunately, engagement crashed and burned in Hanoi. The DPRK then pulled back, essentially severing contact with both the U.S. and South Korea.

keep readingShow less
Why new CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper is as wrong as the old one
Top photo credit: U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper speaks to guests at the IISS Manama Dialogue in Manama, Bahrain, November 17, 2023. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Why new CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper is as wrong as the old one

Middle East

If accounts of President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iranian nuclear facilities this past month are to be believed, the president’s initial impulse to stay out of the Israel-Iran conflict failed to survive the prodding of hawkish advisers, chiefly U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Michael Kurilla.

With Kurilla, an Iran hawk and staunch ally of both the Israeli government and erstwhile national security adviser Mike Waltz, set to leave office this summer, advocates of a more restrained foreign policy may understandably feel like they are out of the woods.

keep readingShow less
Putin Trump
Top photo credit: Vladimir Putin (Office of the President of the Russian Federation) and Donald Trump (US Southern Command photo)

How Trump's 50-day deadline threat against Putin will backfire

Europe

In the first six months of his second term, President Donald Trump has demonstrated his love for three things: deals, tariffs, and ultimatums.

He got to combine these passions during his Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday. Only moments after the two leaders announced a new plan to get military aid to Ukraine, Trump issued an ominous 50-day deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire. “We're going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don't have a deal within 50 days,” Trump told the assembled reporters.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.