TBILISI
\nUS Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin landed in Georgia Monday on the first leg of a visit to three allies on the Black Sea, aiming to deliver a message of support against threats from Russia.
\nThe first Pentagon chief to visit since 2014, Austin will seek to renew a military training program and demonstrate America\u2019s commitment to Tbilisi, which has sought for years to become a full member of NATO.
\n\u201cWe are reassuring and reinforcing the sovereignty of countries that are on the front lines of Russian aggression,\u201d a senior US defence official told reporters ahead of the trip.
\nRussian troops are stationed in two Georgian breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Moscow opposes any move to elevate the country\u2019s NATO status from partner-state level to full member.
\nThe United States has had training programs with the Georgian military for years, focused on developing interoperability capability with NATO as well as territorial defence, and the current program expires in December.
\nIn meetings with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Minister of Defence Juansher Burchuladze, Austin will also express appreciation for Georgia\u2019s contribution to the two-decade war in Afghanistan, US officials said.
\nMore than 20,000 Georgian troops took part in the US-led coalition force between 2004 and 2021, and 32 lost their lives in the conflict.
\nThe Biden administration needs to pay more attention to Georgia to head off a potential tilt toward Russia as well as China, said political scientist David Kramer at Florida International University, who is a former senior US diplomat.
\n\u201cThere is growing concern that the government is a little too flexible to Moscow,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cPart of that is frustration with a lack of progress that they see toward integration with NATO.\u201d
\nFrom Tbilisi, Austin will then travel to two other countries on the rim of the Black Sea, Ukraine and Romania, with the same message of support against Russia.
\nThe Pentagon sees the region as a potential flashpoint, especially since Russia seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine — like Georgia a NATO partner state — in 2014.
\nRussian air and naval forces have increasingly challenged NATO members\u2019 ships in the Black Sea.
\nIn June Russian forces menaced Dutch and British warships as they sailed near Crimea.
\nWashington is conscious of questions about its commitment to countries on Russia\u2019s doorstep as it turns its strategic focus to the Indo-Pacific region to challenge China\u2019s rapid military build-up.
\nThat will also be part of the discussion when Austin heads to Brussels for a meeting of NATO defence ministers on Thursday and Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TBILISI US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin landed in Georgia Monday on the first leg of a visit to three allies on the Black Sea, aiming to deliver a message of support against threats from Russia. The first Pentagon chief to visit since 2014, Austin will seek to renew a military training program and demonstrate America\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-222427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n