U.S. Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command, met with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili and Minister of Defense Juansher Burchuladze during an official visit to Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia, Dec. 1. Cavoli also attended a bilateral meeting with Maj. Gen. Giorgi Matiashvili, Georgia Defense Forces chief of the general staff.
During the engagements, participants discussed their commitment to long-term U.S. and Georgian military cooperation and strengthening partnership through ongoing bilateral security cooperation initiatives like the Georgia Defense and Deterrence Enhancement Initiative and participation in the U.S. Department of Defense State Partnership Program.
“The visit paid by Gen. Christopher Cavoli is very important," Burchuladze said. "This is one more clear message not only for our nations, but also for our partners and for our region that U.S. support towards Georgia is unwavering and will strengthen the relationship between our two countries even more. This is also a message for Georgia’s path to Euro-Atlantic integration.”
The leaders also discussed their mutual commitment to fortifying Georgia’s territorial defense capabilities and deterring adversarial influence in Europe.
“The Georgian defense forces have made fantastic progress over the years professionalizing the force and becoming the sort of serious military force that is capable of defending this nation,” Cavoli said. “That is what is important to us, that Georgia is able to maintain its independence, its sovereignty, its territorial integrity, and, above all, that it is able to remain at peace and unified here and in the region.”
About USEUCOM
U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) is responsible for U.S. military operations across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean. USEUCOM is comprised of more than 64,000 military and civilian personnel and works closely with NATO Allies and partners. The command is one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic combatant commands headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. For more information about USEUCOM, visit www.eucom.mil.
