GD MP Khelashvili: US Defence Secretary’s visit goal is to push Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration

The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party MP Giorgi Khelashvili says that the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stresses advancing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration as the purpose of his today’s visit to Georgia.

 

“The next three years are crucial in this respect and Austin’s visit should be used to set the right direction to cooperation between the Georgian government and the Biden administration,” Khelashvili says in his tweet. 

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>US defense secretary stresses advancing Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration as the purpose of his visit.<br><br>The next three years are crucial in this respect and Austin’s visit should be used to set the right direction to cooperation btw Georgian govt and the Biden administration. <a href=”https://t.co/pgUdEEUCdx”>https://t.co/pgUdEEUCdx</a></p>&mdash; George Khelashvili (@gkhelash) <a href=”https://twitter.com/gkhelash/status/1449965251391365124?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

 

Austin, who took the post back in January 2021, arrived in Tbilisi earlier today. 

 

“Wheels down in Georgia. The United States is committed to helping Georgia build its defense capacity and advance its Euro-Atlantic integration, and I am looking forward to my meetings here,” Austin tweeted. 

 

Austin, who is scheduled to visit Ukraine, Romania and Brussels after Georgia, will meet with Georgian defence and prime ministers in Tbilisi, sign an agreement with the Georgian Defence Ministry and attend a military exercise involving Georgian and American soldiers.