US to remain strong ties with Georgia

Ambassador Ian Kelly is confident that the US – Georgia relationship will remain strong under the Donald Trump administration.

“We don’t have a Secretary of State yet but I hope the appointment will happen within the next days or so. I can say very comfortably that the US -Georgia relationship will remain strong,” he said.

He claimed the Trump administration has expressed the desire to negotiate bilateral trade agreements.

“I hope to be the strong advocate for that with the new administration,” Kelly said.

The US and Georgia are strategic partners and the strong relations between the two countries is of the utmost importance, especially when 20% of Georgian territory remains occupied by Russia, which is still threatening Southern neighbours integrity.

So far the US new administration has not clarified the US-Georgia relations.

In his previous statements, Trump was quite positive towards Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, and vowed to renew and improve US-Russia relations.

However, until the open declaration of US position towards Russia, Georgia and other similar issues there are many question marks.

The US policy to Russia constitutes a risk to Georgia think local analyst. Trump might advocate for removing sanctions from Russia or withdrawing the United States from NATO.

This might even encourage Russia to become more aggressive; previously, Moscow was careful not to allow its provocations to go too far, but under the circumstances when there is a new man in the White House with eccentric opinions, former Soviet republics now aligned with the West might truly be in danger.