Georgia eyes wider cooperation with U.S.
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
European integration has become a priority for Georgia on the background of its tense relations with Russia.
Ties with the Western forces is the country's top political agenda. Intensive support of the U.S. and NATO inspire Georgia to take constructive steps to get closer to the Western forces.
NATO endorsed a package of measures for "intensified cooperation" with Georgia in the alliance's latest summit in Wales, on September 4-5. The head of the world's strongest military alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said it will help Georgia to move forward in preparations to be a NATO member. Georgia has became one of the five countries to achieve the new elevated status of NATO partners.
The South Caucasus country has reiterated the key role of the U.S for its political and economic progress recently.
"Deepening cooperation with the U.S., first of all, promotes strengthening of security and defensibility of Georgia," Alexi Petriashvili, Georgia's Minister of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, said on September 19.
Petriashvili noted that Georgia intends to better its cooperation with the U.S as the main political partner on all important directions at a new level.
"Foremost, we want to strengthen cooperation in the fields of security and defensibility, as well as, on the relations with media, economy and others. That's very vital that Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova will be recognized as the allies of the U.S.," he said.
Earlier, the Committee for Defense and Security of the U.S. Senate supported the resolution, according to which Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova may be granted the major status of non-NATO allies.
Representatives of the Georgian Armed Forces have recently attended the "Sea Breeze-2014" military naval drills in Ukraine. Georgian naval forces conducted several operations at the U.S-Ukrainian "Sea Breeze-2014" naval exercises, which was held in the northwestern part of the Black Sea in Ukraine, on September 8-10, 2014, with the participation of NATO states and partner countries of the alliance.
The U.S. Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel, on his visit to Georgia, on September 7, said Georgia was a committed and dependable partner of the U.S.
Hagel underlined that the U.S. Defense Department fully supports Georgia's defense modernization efforts and will continue to help the nation fulfill its Euro-Atlantic aspirations - including membership in NATO.