US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to visit Georgia
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to land in Georgia today at the start of a two-day visit.
The meeting comes at a time of electoral difficulties for both countries. Georgia’s parliamentary elections last month preserved the government of the Georgian Dream Party (GD), led by businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, allowing it to continue its strategic realignment with Russia. However, opposition parties partial to Europe and NATO have condemned the ballot as rigged and have taken to the streets calling for new elections.
The secretary is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and President Salome Zourabichvili. Topics up for discussion include defence and security cooperation as well as political and economic liberalisation as outlined by the US-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership. Pompeo’s visit is likely meant to signal the strength and commitment of the US presence in the Caucasus as Russian influence rises with its recent brokering of the Azerbaijan-Armenia settlement over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
While the incoming Biden administration will likely emphasise the same policies, internal politics will ultimately decide Georgia’s future place in either the Euro-Atlantic or Russia-dominated systems. If the GD and its oligarchical power base can weather the recent protests, then it will likely continue the nation’s absorption into the Russian sphere of influence.
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