Parliament official says US has “no stronger ally in region” than Georgia

Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules, on Monday highlighted the “strong” strategic cooperation with the United States by claiming his country remained the “most reliable ally” for the US in the South Caucasus.

In our political situation, which we have before the [parliamentary] elections [scheduled for October 26], statements from the West are a kind of vital oxygen for the [domestic] opposition, because they have neither great resources nor authority”, Kadagishvili said in reference to criticisms by Western partners about the Government’s adoption of a controversial law on transparency of foreign influence.

The official also addressed the postponement of the Noble Partner military drills by the United States, expressing hope the strategic cooperation between the two countries would “continue uninterrupted”.

We see other statements where cooperation with Georgia is discussed. I would focus more on the other side. In this region, the United States has no stronger ally than Georgia, this has been tested for decades. Therefore, this strategic cooperation is much more than the situation created before these elections. I am sure that after the elections the situation will be completely different and will change”, he concluded.

Georgian Defence Minister Irakli Chikovani on Saturday said the decision of the US Department of Defence to “indefinitely” postpone this year’s Noble Partner multinational military exercise in Georgia - originally scheduled to run from July 25 to August 6 - was “baffling”.