Georgia–United States relations

Georgia – United States relations
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Georgia, Washington, D.C.	Embassy of the United States, Tbilisi

Georgian troops celebrate their independence day in Baghdad in 2006

Relations between the countries of Georgia and the United States continue to be very close and encompass multiple areas of bilateral cooperation. One of the key U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, Georgia was the third largest troop contributor in the Iraq War and the largest per-capita contributor to the U.S. led mission in Afghanistan. The United States for its part is actively assisting Georgia in strengthening its state institutions in face of increasing pressure from its northern neighbor Russia and has provided the country with financial assistance in excess of three billion dollars since 1991.^[1] Since 2009, Georgian–American relations are streamlined by the U.S.–Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, which created four bilateral working groups on priority areas of democracy; defense and security; economic, trade, energy issues, people-to-people and cultural exchanges.^[1]

Since the early 2000s, Georgia has sought to become a member of NATO with U.S. support; however, Georgia's membership was delayed indefinitely, along with that of Ukraine, due to strong Russian opposition.^[2] In February 2012, it was agreed that the U.S. and Georgia will start working on a Free Trade Agreement which, if materialized, will make Georgia the only European country to have such treaty with the United States.^[3] American citizens visiting Georgia currently do not require a visa for entry. Citizens will receive a 90-day tourist visa at the country's entry points.^[4]^[5]

Georgian-American cooperation on development

The United States works closely with Georgia to promote mutual security, counterterrorism interests and provides Georgia with bilateral security assistance, including English-language and military professional training, through the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program.^{[citation needed]}

The multi-year Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP) ended in 2004, achieving its intended goals of enhancing Georgia's military capability and stimulating military reform. Launched in January 2005, the Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program has advanced GTEP's goals and trained the Georgian contingent participating in coalition operations in Iraq. Partnership with the Georgia (U.S.) National Guard, visits by the Sixth Fleet, the Coast Guard to Georgia, and the Bilateral Working Group on Defense and Military Cooperation are also important components of American security relationship with Georgia.^{[citation needed]}

Promoting democracy and reform is another strategic pillar of America's bilateral relationship with Georgia. In April 2006, as part of these reforms Georgia passed a strong anti-human trafficking law and has since then ranked consistently among Tier 1 countries of the State Department's report on trafficking in persons, meaning that the country now fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.^{[citation needed]}

Georgia hosts 90 Peace Corps Volunteers who work in English Language Education and NGO Development.^[6]

The Iraq War

In a sign of Georgia's increased shift away from Russia and towards the West in the early 2000s, the country committed significant number of troops to U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, after wrapping up a smaller operation in the American-led peacekeeping mission in the war-torn Balkans. Georgia's contingent in Iraq originally consisted of 300 special forces troops under U.S. command in Baqouba, who guarded two bridges and three American Forward Operating Bases. 550 more troops were deployed in June 2005, which were placed under U.S. command on a dangerous 'Middle Ring Security' mission in the Green Zone.^[7]

In 2007, Georgia brought the total number of its troops in Iraq to 2000, becoming the third largest troop contributor after the U.S. and the United Kingdom.^[8] The troops, all of whom had been trained by American instructors, were based east of Baghdad, close to the border with Iran.^[9]

During the outbreak of war between Georgia and Russia on August 8, 2008, Georgia was forced to pull its entire 2,000-strong contingent from Iraq to provide assistance back home.^[10] At the time of the withdrawal, five Georgian soldiers had died in Iraq and 19 were wounded.^[11]

War in Afghanistan

Georgia currently maintains 1600 soldiers in the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan, making it the largest per-capita contributor in the mission and the largest non-NATO contributor to the war effort, after overtaking Australia in 2012. The country has lost 30 soldiers in Afghanistan^[12] and more than 170 were wounded since 2010.^[13]^[14] The most recent deaths occurred on May 13, 2013, when 3 Georgian soldiers: Cpl Alexander Kvitsinadze, Lower Sergeant Zviad Davitadze and Cpl Vladimer Shanava were killed after a terrorist incursion and an accompanying suicide attack on the 42nd Battalion military base.^[12]

Following the defeat of Georgia's ruling UNM Coalition in the Georgian parliamentary elections of 2012, the new governing coalition has promised the United States to remain in Afghanistan and maintain presence there even after most of the coalition withdraws in 2014. Georgia has already started training Afghan security personnel on site and in Georgia. The country also plans to deploy to the area its helicopter instructors, who possess decades of experience with Soviet helicopters, similar to the kind Afghanistan will be using in the years to come.^{[citation needed]}

The virtually non-existent domestic opposition to Georgia's deployment in Afghanistan has not substantially increased despite increasing number of Georgian casualties. This is due to the fact that both U.S. and Georgian governments promote the Afghan involvement as one of the building blocks of Georgia's NATO membership, which has proved elusive in recent years due to Russian complaints^[15]

South Ossetia conflict

Much like its Western allies, the United States condemned Russia's intrusion into Georgia's sovereign territory and while it abstained from direct military action, Washington used military aircraft and naval forces to deliver aid to Georgia to signal its strong support. Following the war, at the advice of Vice President Joseph Biden the U.S. appropriated one billion dollars to help Georgia rebuild.^[16]

On January 9, 2009, the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze signed a Charter on Strategic Partnership, a nonbinding document outlining areas of cooperation and reiterating the U.S. support for Georgia's territorial integrity and to Georgia's NATO membership.^[17]

Following U.S. President Barack Obama's meeting with Dmitry Medvedev in 2009, there were worries in Georgia and among its supporters in the U.S. that the Georgian-American relations would suffer as a result of attempts to repair Russian–American relations. However, the White House stated that the administration will continue to support Georgia.^[18]^[19]

According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 51% of Georgians approve of U.S. leadership, with 15% disapproving and 34% uncertain.^[20]

In February 2014, Georgian Premier Irakli Garibashvili met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss Georgia's future as well as recent developments in Ukraine.^[21]

In his 2020 book A Promised Land, Barack Obama post-presidency discussed the Georgia invasion by Russia, also explaining personally that "Medvedev's rebuttal on Georgia reminded me that he was no Boy Scout." Obama argued, as is the position on Ukraine in the UN, that the invasion and continued occupation of Georgia by Russian Federation violated Georgia's sovereignty and international law.^[22]

American sanctions on Georgian officials

On April 5, 2023, the U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions on Georgian court Chairmen and members of the High Council of Justice of Georgia under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023, barring them and their immediate family members from entering the U.S. for supposed involvement in "significant corruption".^[23] The Georgian officials condemned the decision, while local opposition supported the decision by calling the President to convene special session. The judges criticized it as an attempt to subjugate the Georgian court system to foreign control. According to Archil Talakvadze, the Vice Speaker in the Georgian Parliament, "It is regrettable our friendship and strategic relations have reached the point where we speak to each other in the language of sanctions".^[24]

The US Department of State imposed sanctions on members of an influential group of judges, a so-called "Clan", including Mikheil Chinchaladze, Levan Murusidze, Valerian Tsertsvadze, and Irakli Shengelia. The United States alleged involvement in significant corruption and referred to it as the main challenge to the Georgian justice system.^[25] The Georgian government criticized the U.S. State Department for failing to provide relevant evidence of the corrupt practices of these judges to the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia so it could start an investigation to verify these claims.^{[citation needed]}

On May 24, 2024, the US announced it was reevaluating its cooperation with Georgia due to the "foreign agent" law that sparked the largest protests in the country's history. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced visa restrictions for certain individuals linked to "undermining democracy in Georgia", believed to be associated with the ruling Georgian Dream party, which criticized the US decision, labeling it as "comical" and accusing Washington of threats and blackmail to limit Georgia's independence.^[26]