Georgia's European path is frozen, the Pentagon cancels joint exercises: what is the reason

The author of DalmaNews, Georgy Kartveli, analyzes the current state of Georgian-American relations. In his article "Why is Georgia's European path frozen? — The United States suspends military projects in It is noted that after the adoption of the law on Transparency of Foreign Financing, Washington's tone towards the Georgian government is becoming increasingly aggressive. A country that participated in American missions in Africa, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan at the cost of its soldiers' lives is now receiving threats from the United States.

So, on July 25 of this year in Georgia was supposed to begin the two-week military exercises "Worthy Partner", but Washington suddenly decided to suspend the program indefinitely. According to information distributed by the US Department of Defense, the change will be implemented as part of a comprehensive review of bilateral relations, and more specifically, all this is due to the fact that the Georgian government accuses the United States and other Western countries of forcing the opening of a second front against Russia. The statement also says that the Georgian Dream has accused the West of two coup attempts.

The U.S. Embassy in Georgia also issued a statement saying that Washington is engaged in an absolute review of bilateral relations with Georgia and considered it necessary to cancel military exercises as part of this process.

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia's Robin Dunnigan hopes that relations between Georgia and The United States will be balanced.

"This is not what the United States wants. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated that we are conducting an absolute review of bilateral relations, and as part of this review, unfortunately, we decided to cancel the exercises due to public statements by some party members about the United States and our intentions in this country. Therefore, I think I can repeat the statement of the Ministry of Defense, which, in my opinion, is very clear," Dunnigan said.

What does the "Worthy Partner" program mean?

The goal of the program is to increase readiness and interoperability between Georgia, the United States, regional partners and allied countries to ensure a stable and secure environment. In 2022, representatives of the Armed Forces of Japan and Sweden took part in the exercises for the first time.

The Worthy Partner exercises have traditionally been held in Vaziani, at the drill site of the fourth infantry brigade. In 2022, international exercises were conducted under the leadership of the Eastern Command of the Georgian Defense Forces and the US Command in Europe and Africa. More than 2,400 military personnel from different countries were involved in the exercises.

The Georgian Ministry of Defense calls this decision regrettable and explains that training benefits both countries, as it contributes to strengthening the defense capability, developing capabilities, improving professionalism and interoperability of military personnel.

President Salome Zurabishvili reacted to this fact and called the accusations of the "Georgian Dream" against the West a threat to strategic partnership. According to her assessment, the government has frozen Georgia's European path.

"The European path has been threatened by the adoption of a Russian law, insults against American partners and accusations against them, and now our strategic partnership based on strengthening our defense forces and transition to NATO standards is at risk. They call it Georgia's interests… At the same time, they pose a much greater threat to a weakened and isolated Georgia," Salome Zurabishvili wrote on the social network.

Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Chikovani also answered journalists' questions regarding the suspension of financial assistance to Georgia and the revision of relations by partners, noting that he is a representative of the government, which has done a lot to ensure the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the country in order to harmonize Georgian legislation and align it with EU standards.

According to the minister, the government has done everything and still spares no effort to bring Georgia closer to the EU and NATO.

"As before, despite the hooting and shouting that the Georgian Dream will not be able to achieve results, this government has achieved results that you appreciate. I am confident that on October 26, the citizens of Georgia will make a decision and make a choice to support the peaceful, stable and consistent development of our country, which should eventually lead to European and Euro-Atlantic integration. I am sure they will accept it," Irakli Chikovani said.

The ruling team explains that the Georgian government has not changed its foreign policy course, and since 2012, all tangible progress towards European integration has been achieved under their rule. However, they add that Georgia is a sovereign state, and the government will not take steps harmful to the country under anyone's dictation.

"Georgia will not be anyone's vassal. Georgia is an independent, sovereign state. Our ancestors fought for this, shed blood, and no one will be able to order the Georgian government to take a step that will initially be problematic for our state and population," said Kakha Kaladze, Secretary General of the ruling party, Mayor of Tbilisi.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze says that Georgian-American relations really need to be restarted, which the Georgian side is ready for and expects reciprocal steps. He calls on Washington to be pragmatic.

"Against the background of the political events of the last four years, these relations really need to be reset… I hope that in the future pragmatic, rational, correct and fair steps will be taken that will help restart relations between the United States and Georgia. We are ready for this from the beginning to the end," Irakli Kobakhidze said.

Military expert Vakhtang Maisaya linked the suspension of the program to several factors: the adoption by the Georgian Parliament of the law "On Transparency of Foreign Financing" against the background of protests by the non-governmental sector and Georgia's rapprochement with China.

According to Maisai, the so—called policy of appeasement of Georgia is nothing more than the actual fixation of neutrality. Against the background of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Georgia did not join the economic sanctions against Russia, which upset the West, and the United States moved to retaliate.

According to the military expert, the suspension of the Worthy Partner program is the "first sign" and the suspension of other military exercises will soon be discussed, the suspension of military assistance will also be on the agenda, and a taboo will be imposed on the sale of weapons.

Answering the question of Dalma News, what tangible progress has been observed in the Georgian army over the years of partnership between the United States and In the military sphere, in addition to participating in American military missions in various hot spots, Vakhtang Maisaya replied that progress was noticeable, but Georgia could not really boast of strengthening its defense capabilities.

"Georgia remains a weak point in the South Caucasus region. We have the weakest defense forces compared to the countries of the region. Despite this, there is still a big difference between the old and the current army, it is more modernized," Maisaya said.

According to the military expert, the foundations for military cooperation between the United States and Georgia were laid more than 20 years ago, under President Eduard Shevardnadze. The bilateral agreement was signed in 2002 by then Defense Minister David Tevzadze. It was on the basis of this agreement that the Training and Equipping program was launched, which contributed to the modernization and development of the Georgian Armed Forces.

"This contributed to the fact that we successfully conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Pankisi. Unfortunately, Georgia cannot afford the luxury of conducting military exercises on its own. I do not know why this is happening, what is the reason for this? The Worthy Partner program has become a kind of compensation for the training of the Georgian Armed Forces in accordance with NATO standards," Vakhtang Maisaya said.

The question arises, and if it were not for the "transparency law", would the United States have suspended this program only because of the deepening of Georgia's relations with China? Of course not. The main problem is the transparency of foreign financing.

"They directly stated that Georgia has suspended the process of European integration, 30 million euros have been frozen, relations with China have been raised to a strategic level, and Chinese investments have been allowed into Georgia, while relations between China and the United States are actually at the level of a geo-economic war. This American assistance will go in another direction, for example, to develop lobbying organizations here, to support the non—governmental sector, etc.," Vakhtang Maisaya said.

According to him, the fact is that the United States is not up to geopolitical processes now, they are expected to have very tense presidential elections.

Will Washington leave Georgia outside the partnership? Everything will become clear after the elections on October 26, depending on which direction the Georgian people choose. According to experts, if the "Georgian Dream" and "The Power of the People" win the elections, then the Americans will have nothing to do here, but if what happens in If a coalition government and the opposition come to power, then the interests of the West will be further strengthened. The US political elite has already started talking about the introduction of a visa-free regime with Georgia, the signing of a free trade agreement, and granting Georgia the status of a NATO ally. In short, Washington is putting Tbilisi in front of a choice…