The U.S. House Appropriations Committee on July 9 approved the fiscal year 2021 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs bill. The legislation, funding international programs and activities of the U.S., recommends not less than USD 132,025,000 assistance for Georgia, with 15 % of the funds available to the Georgian Government conditioned to the state of democracy in Georgia.

Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe said that this approval means that Washington expects Georgia to live up to its declared status as a liberal democracy.

“It means that the United States is still a partner of Georgia and that we value this partnership. It also means that we expect Georgia to live up to its declared status as a liberal democracy. This is important for resisting malign Russian influence (bribes, corruption, disinformation, threats…), such as what led to the failed efforts to develop the port of Anaklia that project has not moved forward because of Kremlin influence. If the government of Georgia really wanted it to move forward, it would have moved forward. This is why the U.S. Congress expects stronger democratic institutions and transparency that will help counter this Kremlin influence and the susceptibility of some Georgian officials to go along with this Kremlin influence,” Hodges told the Accent.

As he stated, the Kremlin knows that if U.S. and European countries have large investments in Georgia, then these countries will pay closer attention to Russian security threats such as the continued illegal occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the continued illegal Russian claims to territorial waters and exclusive economic zone around Crimea.

“That sort of increased attention and interest would make it more difficult for the Kremlin to constitute its illegal activities in the Black Sea region. Unfortunately, the government of Georgia has allowed Kremlin influence to prevent or discourage western business development, which only harm the Georgian people”, he added.

When asked, “will Batumi Port Terminal together with the Anaklia project help us get closer to NATO and contribute to the security and stability of the country?”, Hodges said:

“Absolutely. Economic development by the west depends on stability, security and transparent, legitimate business procedures within Georgia. It is in the hands of Georgia to create those conditions”.