FM Zalkaliani talks about new bill adopted by the US Senate and its importance for Georgia
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, July 27
According to Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, the latest version of the US Senate National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 put an end to speculation and the opposition's attempt to bring narrow partisan interests into the Georgia-US strategic relationship. Zalkaliani talked about these with the media about the approval of the US Defense Authorization Bill for the fiscal year 2021, which did not reflect Senator Risch’s initiatives.
According to David Zalkaliani, the US-Georgia strategic partnership is irreversible. He also thanked Senator Risch for his support for the bill.
“It was a support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Support for Georgia's European, Euro-Atlantic integration. There is support for strengthening Georgia's defense and security, and, of course, there is support for strengthening Black Sea security. Georgia is particularly isolated in the region in the legislative act, which has a special function in terms of strengthening security in the region. I would like to emphasize once again that the Senate version of the Defense Act is unconditional support for Georgia's role in the region,” said Zalkaliani.
The US. Senate has approved the US. Defense Authorization Bill for the fiscal year 2021. The document contains strong messages of support for Georgia's territorial integrity, Euro-Atlantic integration, and the country's defense capabilities.
The initiator of the amendments to the draft budget was the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jim Risch, and the purpose of the initiative was to link the democratic state of US military support to Georgia. The bill, which was drafted by the Senate Foreign Relations Chairman, focused on the situation in Georgia, last year's protests, and the March 8 agreement.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, the version of the Foreign Operations and Related Programs Bill approved by the US House of Representatives contains important records in terms of strengthening the de-occupation and non-recognition of the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia.
As for the funding allocated to Georgia by the bill, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia says that the US State Department, Foreign Operations and related programs bill still provides solid financial assistance to Georgia and it reaches $ 132, 025,000 million.
The U.S. House of Representatives on July 24 approved by 224 votes to 189 the bill on the fiscal year 2021 state, foreign operations, and related programs. The draft law also talks about Georgia.
