Georgian PM responds to tension in Middle East
Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia has stated that peace has no alternative. Photo: government of Georgia press office.
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Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has responded to the current tension in the Middle East and stated that peaceful negotiations and active diplomacy have no alternative.
Any tension may cause huge problems both for security and economy,” Gakharia has stated earlier today.
He said that since the beginning of the tension between the US and Iran Georgia has been in “close contact with international partners and we are closely observing the situation together.”
The Georgian Foreign Ministry is working actively with foreign partners to completely realise the threats the current situation might trigger for Georgia,” Gakharia said.
US President Donald Trump stated yesterday that the US would impose additional financial and economic sanctions on Iran, which would be in place until it "changed its behaviour".
Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism," Trump said, responding to the Iran’s missile attack at air bases housing US forces in Iraq.
“US or Iraqi lives were lost in the attacks and the bases suffered only minimal damage,” Trump said.
Iran carried out a ballistic missile attack on January 8 responding to the US killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has met with acting US Ambassador to Georgia Elisabeth Rood earlier today.
The United States has allocated $132 million to Georgia as financial aid, which is the largest amount in the US-Georgia relations, as the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
The US Congress has approved its defense spending bill for 2020 to the amount of $738 billion, which includes significant cooperation with Georgia.
Georgia and the United States will sign a three-year agreement in the autumn in the defence field, which will strengthen the country’s defence capabilities and speed up Georgia’s NATO integration, the Georgian Defence Ministry reports.