Pence promised protection of Georgia on a par with NATO countries

Photo: Facebook / The White House

The United States supports and stands guard over Georgia’s freedom and the values ​​that both states share. As stated during his visit, US Vice President Mike Pence, this is the message of the President of the United States, with whom he sent him to Georgia.

In particular, as Pence said at a briefing in Tbilisi, the United States condemns Russia's occupation of Georgia, supports its territorial integrity and sovereignty, and the country's desire to join NATO, writes "Voice of America".

“Today, Russian tanks are located in 40 kilometers from this place in the occupied Georgian territory. 20% of the territory of Georgia is occupied. And I emphasize that the United States strongly condemns the occupation of Georgia by Russia. The United States strongly supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia. The administration of Donald Trump will always strictly reply to those countries who have a claim to encroachment on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, ”said Pence, and said that President Trump would“ very soon ”sign the law on new sanctions against Russia.

“This law not only codifies the existing sanctions against Russia, which our administration supports, but also will strengthen them by giving the president and the State Department the opportunity to pursue a corresponding foreign policy,” the US Vice President stated.

At the same time, the vice-president noted, the USA is interested in having good relations with Russia, but, as the vice-president stated, this can be achieved only after the Russian side "stops taking destructive actions".

Mike Pence said the United States intends to continue to help Georgia carry out reforms, as well as deepen cooperation in business and economics. According to him, “a strong and developed Georgia will achieve the unification of the country” and that the time will come when the country will “mark the day of the return of its territories.”

“I repeat the words of President Trump - we stand next to you, we continue our alliance, Georgia’s future is tied to the West, our strength is always and will be in our unity,” the US Vice President stated.

Will the United States protect Georgia?

Photo: Facebook / The White House

During a press conference in Tbilisi, the American Vice President was asked whether the United States would defend Georgia in the event of an attack by Russia, which opposes the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance to the east, and which, in response to the exercises held by NATO in Georgia, intends to conduct large-scale exercises “West - 2017.

“President Trump sent me on this tour in order to convey a clear message to the Baltic countries, Montenegro and Georgia that the United States supports the freedom-loving countries, and we do this not only in words but also prove it in practice. The president stressed that the American contingent clearly demonstrates that we are faithful to our commitments, ”said Mike Pence.

“As for the transfer of the 100-thousandth contingent by Russia, this is another confirmation of how important it is for NATO partners to be in the same position. President Trump and I believe that you can have better relations with Russia, but negotiations between the two countries always begin with determining the positions of each partner, ”said Pence.

Photo: Facebook / The White House

Other meetings

After the meetings with the Georgian Prime Minister, the opposition and the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, Mike Pence went to the Vaziani military base, where, together with Georgian President Georgy Margvelashvili, he met with participants of the Worthy Partner - 2017 multinational NATO military exercises.

Recall that the third worthy partner exercise began in Georgia on July 30 and will end on August 12. This year more than 2.8 thousand representatives of the armed forces of eight countries - Armenia, Georgia, USA, Great Britain, Germany, Turkey, Slovenia and Ukraine take part in them. From Georgia on the evening of August 1, the Vice President of the United States made an official visit to Montenegro.

Estimates in Tbilisi

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili called the visit of the American Vice President “historic”, noting that the United States’s support for the territorial integrity of Georgia and its foreign policy priorities was unequivocally demonstrated.

“The United States has been and remains the main strategic partner of Georgia, and the visit of the vice-president is a confirmation of this. We heard very clear messages about supporting Georgia, supporting its territorial integrity, foreign policy ... We still have a feeling of great gratitude towards the Vice President and President Donald Trump, whose messages were brought to us by Mike Pence. I think the people of Georgia saw the scale of support from the United States, and this really gives Georgia a historic chance, ”said George Kvirikashvili in his commentary to the media.

In turn, Georgian Foreign Minister Mikhail Dzhanelidze, in an interview with Georgian media, singled out from the statements of Mike Pens “two of the most important”:

“Our strength is in unity,” and “we stand with you” are the messages that the Vice President brought from Washington ... and they personify the great support from the United States, ”the Georgian Foreign Ministry head told reporters.

Moscow comment

Moscow also commented on Mike Pence's East European trip. As the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, told 1 on August, Russia sees the problem not in the relations of the United States with the former republics of the USSR, but in the expansion of “various alliances” and their military infrastructure.

“These are sovereign countries, which, of course, build relations with international partners at their discretion. There can be no problem here ... Such cooperation becomes a problem for us when it entails the expansion of various alliances and the military infrastructure of these alliances in the direction of our borders. This causes our concern, ”said Peskov.

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