Georgia’s US Ambassador hails US senators’ legislation for increased military assistance for Black Sea countries

Georgian Ambassador to the United States David Zalkaliani on Thursday hailed the legislation introduced by two US senators for increased military assistance for Black Sea countries including Georgia by saying the move marked “the first time” the Senate had asked a US administration to develop a strategy for the region.

Zalkaliani noted the bipartisan legislation envisaged for the strategy to be “comprehensive”, with the main focus on strengthening security and defence capabilities in the Black Sea region.

It is an important bipartisan legislative initiative that should define the US strategy for the Black Sea region. This is the first time that the US Senate addresses the administration to develop a strategy for the Black Sea region, and it includes the definition of the Black Sea region, which directly refers to Georgia as well”, the Georgian diplomat said.

The Ambassador stressed the economic component of the strategy was related to “important economic projects” that “strengthen the stability of the Black Sea region and our defence capability”.

The new piece of legislation, introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the Chair of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation and Senator Mitt Romney, on Wednesday directed the Biden administration to develop a strategy towards the Black Sea region, which it said had “increasingly become a critical inflection point for European and global security amid Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine”.