U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III announced that the U.S. Department of Defense approved an additional $33 million in U.S. military assistance to Georgia after his meeting with Georgian Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze amid a volatile geopolitical context caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Today, I’m pleased to announce that we’ve approved Georgia for the risk-assessed payment schedule so Georgia will be able to request and acquire vital military capabilities more easily,” said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, while hosting his Georgian counterpart at the Pentagon.
Secretary Austin also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and highlighted Georgia’s outsized contributions to international security, noting that Georgian military units have served and sacrificed alongside U.S. and NATO forces in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. “We deeply appreciate Georgia’s outsized effect on security and stability in the South Caucasus and around the world and our security partnership continues to deepen,” he said.
For his part, Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze discussed the implementation of the Georgia Defense and Deterrence Enhancement Initiative, which was signed in late 2021 during Secretary Austin’s visit to Tbilisi with the aim of elevating Georgia’s interoperability with NATO. Burchuladze further said that Georgia values its strategic partnership with the U.S., “which is essential for Georgia’s defense and peaceful and stable development,” and emphasized that Georgia “treasure[s] our partnership, our shared beliefs, values and interests, which we have been defending together over the past three decades.”
Both officials highlighted the need for increased engagement in the Black Sea region amid the current geopolitical context and agreed to work together against malign forces. During their meeting, the two top defense officials reaffirmed the steadfast bilateral security partnership and vowed to increase collaboration on key security issues considering Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.