"It is tragic that the US Congress is discussing revision of assistance to Georgia" - American expert

US Congress discusses revision of aid to Georgia

The fact that the issue of assistance to Georgia is being discussed in the US Congress is already tragic for the country, Robert Hamilton, retired US Air Force colonel, professor of strategy at the US Army War College and researcher at the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, Robert Hamilton, said in an interview with Voice of America.

According to Hamilton, the current war in Ukraine is a tragic event, but also an opportunity for Georgia to achieve a closer partnership with NATO and strengthen relations with the alliance. Since the 2008 Bucharest summit, Georgia and Ukraine have always been mentioned together, Hamilton noted:

“Unfortunately for Georgia, I think this war has shown a significant difference not only in terms of military capabilities, but also in terms of the country’s willingness to be a NATO partner and do what NATO members do. I think Congress is discussing revision of assistance to Georgia or the imposition of sanctions against some citizens, [and] this is a really tragic situation. And if that happens, it will be a very sad day for Georgia.”

In Hamilton’s view, the Georgian government’s narrative that the West wants to drag the country into a war is false: “Unfortunately, this is one of the least helpful things the Georgian government has done in response to the war in Ukraine.”

“I assume that the people who say this know it is a lie, but they do it to justify Georgia’s position regarding the war in Ukraine. Once again, this is very sad. And this will in no way help NATO and the West collectively deal with Russian aggression.”

Hamilton believes the alliance needs Georgia to focus on the country’s national territorial defense. As Hamilton explains, Article 3 of the NATO Charter refers to the country’s resilience. “Everyone is focused on Article 5, but Article 3 is also very important,” Hamilton said, adding that NATO member states must invest heavily in their own territorial defense capabilities and build community resilience:

“I think Georgia can do this both for itself and for NATO aspirations to invest in these opportunities. This would help the country to protect its territories. If and when Georgia becomes a member of the alliance, it will not be a burden on NATO but will be able to contribute to its own defense and, more broadly, to defense of NATO.”

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On November 17, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried spoke at a meeting of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressing her disappointment that “we have been seeing a rollback of democracy in Georgia lately.” In addition, Donfried referred to criticism by some Georgian politicians of the US Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan.

The US is encouraging Georgia to make the necessary reforms to become an EU candidate, Donfried said, and the American people have long expressed solidarity with Georgians’ aspirations to be “a free, democratic and sovereign nation within its internationally recognized borders.”

Senator Jeanne Shaheen spoke in the same vein, saying that it might be worth revisiting US strategy for helping Georgia.

The US provides significant support to Georgia in its reform agenda, the senator said, but that support should be tied to Georgia’s response.

Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze responded that “most of the funding from the United States goes to NGOs, so from a practical point of view, this is not very interesting for Georgia.”