Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Meets with Georgia and Reaffirms Stance Against Russian Occupation

Today June 11, 2019 United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, reaffirming the United States’ “commitment to the U.S. – Georgia strategic partnership” and “stand against the aggressive actions of Russia” (1). The Secretary of State said the U.S. will “continue enhancing Georgia’s defense readiness so Georgia can [continue] deterring aggression, and supporting global security” (1). Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said that since 2008, when Russia invaded and subsequently occupied the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali, “Georgia and the U.S. created a platform for rebuilding Georgia, strengthening institutions, developing democracy and the rule of law, and… Georgia’s many accomplishments are a direct result of the success of U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership” (2). The Georgian Prime Minister went on to say relationships with the U.S. “have grown to all-time high under President Trump’s administration” (2). Prime Minister Bakhtadze and Secretary Pompeo emphasized the United States and Georgia have “to keep working together” to “prevent Georgia from falling prey to Russian or Chinese economic influence…, and to ensure that Georgia has a continued future anchored firmly in the West” (2).

1. https://www.state.gov/10th-anniversary-joint-declaration-on-the-u-s-georgia-strategic-partnership/
2. https://www.state.gov/statements-to-the-press-with-georgian-prime-minister-mamuka-bakhtadze-as-part-of-the-u-s-georgia-strategic-partnership-commission/