Georgian PM discusses partnership, security, EU aspirations with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday discussed his country’s strategic partnership with the United States, security challenges in the South Caucasus and the wider world, and Tbilisi’s European Union integration prospects with Erika Olson, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

The discussion between the Georgian Government head and the US official overseeing policy for Southern Europe and the Caucasus noted the significance of “consolidating” cooperation in “various fields”, the Government Administration said. 

It also highlighted the regional and wider security situation on the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the topic including a review of Georgia’s role as a regional peace mediator.

The latter topic involved the sides noting the initiative proposed by Garibashvili that in 2021 facilitated a deal ensuring the release of 15 Armenian prisoners of war in exchange for Azerbaijan receiving from Yerevan a map of landmines in the Agdam district of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

• Georgian PM: Georgia “neutral, impartial” mediator between Azerbaijan, Armenia

In the agreement, which followed the most recent conflict between the two counties, the captives were handed over to Armenia on the Azerbaijani-Georgian border, with the Georgian authorities attending the swap.

Discussing the country’s European aspirations, the officials stressed Georgia’s “tangible progress” on the path, the Government press office also said.