US official: ‘Georgia continues to be US' ally in regional stability’
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday, February 11
The US Deputy State Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson says that Georgia remains to be a close partner of the US in regional stability and defense cooperation.
She made the statement last week, after her meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani in Washington.
“Zalkaliani and Thompson said that the strategic cooperation between Georgia and the US is excellent and stated that the relations between the countries are at an all-time high,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry reported.
Zalkaliani was invited to the US by the State Secretary Mike Pompeo to participate in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
Zalkaliani stated during the conference that Georgia has the honor to be the partner of the United States and a member of the global coalition against the Islamic State.
“ISIS is a huge threat to the world,” he said.
“I strongly believe that Georgia is able to make the region more secure,” he added.
In his speech, Zalkaliani spoke about the Russian occupation in the two occupied regions of Georgia Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and the possible terrorist threats coming from the regions which are beyond the control of the central Georgian government.
The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS was assembled by the US in 2014, in the wake of the seizure of vast territories of Syria and Iraq by militant groups.
The coalition unites 79 member states.
