Tbilisi hails U.S. President Barack Obama’s position on enhanced security cooperation with Georgia, while Moscow expresses principal objections to a new stage of the U.S.-Georgia partnership.
Security cooperation and a free-trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries became the main issues discussed during Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's and President Obama’s meeting in the White House on January 30. The Georgian incumbent political elite as well as opposition leaders praised the meeting and highlighted its special significance on the 20th anniversary of U.S.-Georgia diplomatic relations. In the Oval Office, the U.S. President made clear that the general features of the strategic partnership between Washington and Tbilisi would be retained and new steps taken to buttress the ongoing institutional reform that will ensue an “enormous difference” for present and future generations of Georgians. He also said that the U.S. expects the Georgian parliamentary elections scheduled for this year to be free and fair, leading to “the formal transfer of power that … will solidify many of these reforms that have already taken place.” Further, Obama dubbed Georgia a “model of democracy and transparency” setting a precedent for the whole region. He expressed gratitude for Georgia’s “extraordinary contributions” to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, and assured Saakashvili that the White House will continue to support Georgia’s aspirations to become a member of NATO. “We will continue to strengthen our defense cooperation, and there are a wide range of areas where we are working together,” the U.S. president said.
In respect of deeper bilateral economic relations, Obama sketched out the prospects of an FTA between the U.S. and Georgia, disclosing new opportunities for American and Georgian business and creating a “win-win” situation for both countries. He noted, however, that the initiative is in need of tremendous preliminary work regarding tariffs, quotas and other trade restrictions.
President Saakashvili thanked the Obama administration for the possibility of an FTA that, in his words, would help the “nation-building process,” and voiced his appreciation of U.S. support for Georgia’s aspiration to integrate with NATO. Nevertheless, he was particularly satisfied with the agreement to move bilateral defense cooperation “to a new level,” aiming to boost Georgia’s self-defense capabilities. The entire Georgian political spectrum, including the most radical opposition leaders, assessed Saakashvili’s U.S. trip positively. The recently emerged tycoon politician Bidzina Ivanishvili welcomed the president’s productive talks, but warned that the Georgian government should well understand the signals embedded in the American leader’s speech. He stated that the Georgian government concealed the main emphasis of Obama’s speech whereas the U.S. president overtly referred to the importance of a legal transfer of power in Georgia through democratic elections.
While Obama clearly underlined the importance of “free and fair” elections, the most significant implication of the speech from a Georgian perspective is that the Obama administration appears ready to create a benevolent environment for enhanced trade and security relations with Georgia.
In terms of economic support, the U.S. granted Georgia the status of a beneficiary country of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in 2001. GSP allows a wide spectrum of Georgian products access to the U.S. market but only a few of 3,400 eligible product types are being exported. Therefore, the FTA might not automatically ensure a drastic increase of Georgian export to U.S., but it will certainly reaffirm the confidence of investors in the Georgian economy and will help the country secure a preferable position in the neighborhood.
Even more palpable results can be identified in a security perspective. According to the Georgian defense ministry, a new level of cooperation between the two countries will go beyond the current training of military servicemen for peacekeeping operations and will enhance Georgia’s defense capacities. Russia immediately reacted strongly to the prospects of a more robust security partnership between the U.S. and Georgia. Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister, Anatoly Antonov said to RIA Novosti on February 2 that Georgian officials had simply replaced “arms sale” or “supply of arms” with “elevating defense cooperation to a new stage.” If such a decision [on any kind of arms supply] was taken, it will destabilize the situation in the Caucasus,” he said. On the next day Saakashvili stressed that “[the] decision has been made to move military cooperation [with the U.S.] to an absolutely new level in order to focus on our self-defense.”
Washington and Tbilisi signed the Charter on Strategic Partnership in 2009. At that time the deal was considered the beginning of a new phase in the history of the U.S.-Georgia strategic partnership, representing a framework for enhancing cooperation on a wide range of areas including security and defense. However, the public remarks of U.S. officials’ over the past three years have demonstrated more focus on educating the armed forces, sustaining a “brains before brawn” approach. “Elevation to a new stage,” as the Georgian president has designated it, more likely means a shift in this approach.