Ambassador Michael Carpenter, the senior adviser on European affairs for the National Security Council of the United States, commented on the indefinite postponement of the Nobel Partner 2024 military training in Georgia. He stated that all US programs are currently under review.
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“A lot of our cooperation with Georgia right now is under review, including the Noble Partner exercise and other engagements that we have with the Georgian Government.
It’s clear that over the course of the last few months, sadly, the Georgian Government has moved in the wrong direction in terms of its Euro-Atlantic integration prospects. We have long supported Georgia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders. We have participated in upwards of 60 rounds of the Geneva international discussions to support Georgia.
So it is with some concern and sadness, frankly, that we see this move in the other direction.
But frankly, when we see harassment of civil society, when we see laws being passed that limit the space for fundamental freedoms in Georgia, that’s not compatible with the values that undergird the NATO Alliance, nor, frankly, do we think it’s compatible with Euro-Atlantic integration writ large, including the EU.
So we hope to see a change in direction, strategic direction, from the Georgian Government. But right now all of our programs with Georgia are under review,” said Ambassador Carpenter, at the briefing held before the NATO summit.
Noble Partner is a military exercise jointly managed by the Georgian Defense Forces and the US Army European Command, hosted at the Vaziani and Norio training bases in Georgia since 2016.
This year, the exercises were scheduled to start on July 25. However, on July 5, the US Department of Defense announced an indefinite postponement. "The decision to postpone this iteration of NOBLE PARTNER is due to the Georgian government's false accusations against the United States and other western entities, to pressure Georgia to open a second front against Russia to alleviate pressure on Ukraine, and of participating in two coup attempts against the ruling party," the Pentagon explained.
Tina Khidasheli, the Minister of Defense of Georgia in 2015-2016, calls Nobel Partner one of the important components of Georgian-American military relations. According to Khidasheli, "disrupting or suspending this component means that a similar rule will apply to all aspects of military cooperation, which would be a disaster for the Georgian army."
"This will definitely have a snowball effect on European NATO member countries, leaving us at the mercy of Russia and China. Then Irakli Kobakhidze should lead the exercises and salute the Georgian army together with the Chinese Liberation Army," said Khidasheli.
The Ministry of Defense of Georgia expressed regret over the US decision to postpone the military training. The ministry also noted that there are mutually beneficial cooperation formats between the two countries in the field of defense and security, which will continue.
