What’s behind John Kerry’s visit?

U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry will visit Georgia. The exact date of the visit has not been set yet. The beginning of June has been named as a tentative date, but people in Georgia, where parliamentary elections are scheduled for autumn this year, are already wondering – what is the reason of the U.S. high-rank official’s visit to Georgia?

Information about John Kerry’s possible visit to Georgia was made public following his meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze, in Washington D.C., on March 15.

Here’s what Kerry wrote about the meeting on his Twitter page:

Interestingly, that John Kerry started a joint briefing with his Georgian counterpart with the Syrian issue, rather than with talking about Georgia.

‘This is another sign that Georgia is no longer topical in the West’, – that’s what social network users wrote about the meeting.

Another noteworthy detail in his speech is that Kerry did not mention Russia in Georgian context, but instead, he noted in general that ‘Georgia has been facing many problems and challenges over the past few years.’

At the meeting with Georgian Minister, Kerry expressed support for independence and territorial integrity of Georgia and thanked the country for its contribution to the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, as well as emphasized Georgia’s particular role in maintaining stability in the Caucasus region.

‘We applaud the current focus in Georgia on economic development and on building the economic opportunity for the people of Georgia. We believe that an independent, unified, and prosperous Georgia is essential to the peace and stability of the Caucasus, noted the U.S. Secretary of State.

Making reference to Georgia in the Caucasus context has become a special subject of Georgian experts’ discussion. Why does the USA particularly focus on the Caucasus? – they wonder.

According to Korneli Kakachia, a political analyst, the fact that John Kerry presented Georgia as a regional actor is not a positive sign:

‘Regrettably, in recent years, the USA has viewed Georgia as a key player in the South Caucasus, and not as part of Eastern Europe, as it used to be before. I think, linking us politically to an explosive region, especially now, as Georgia has absolutely different ambitions related to the Euro–Atlantic space, cannot be a positive sign, ‘- Kakachia told ‘Radio Liberty’.

Kakachia explains the current situation by the passivity of Georgian diplomacy. In his words, in recent years, it has been moving by inertia, without any new visions and initiatives, including in relations with the United States, for which the Georgian issue has become less important against the background of Ukraine and Syria crisis.

Local experts also focus on domestic political importance of Kerry’s visit to the country. Is the U.S. State Secretary’s visit an expression of support to the Georgian Dream government ahead of 2016 parliamentary elections or, on the contrary, a warning that the elections should be held in a democratic atmosphere?

Khatuna Lagazidze, a political analyst, believes that Kerry’s visit is mainly linked to the upcoming parliamentary elections and it will be a warning signal to the government. In her opinion, Georgia’s western partners will try, as much as possible, to maintain control over the upcoming elections and to urge the government to act in accordance with the law:

‘Of course, the government will interpret John Kerry’s visit as a declaration of support, however, I do not think that is so. In my opinion, this is the case, when the US high-rank official will strictly warned the government that the elections must be conducted in full compliance with the fairness and democracy principles. ‘

The material has been prepared based on ‘Radio Liberty”s information

Published on: 17. 03. 2016