Georgian Politics: Controversy Surrounds Alleged US Military Base Proposal

By Malkhaz Matsaberidze

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Today's Georgian politics is a strange mixture of acute topics. One such issue was voiced by Mtavari Arkhi. As the opposition TV channel reported, before the war in Ukraine, the United States proposed to create a military base in Georgia, which was rejected by the "Georgian Dream" government. The Georgian Defense Agency and the US Embassy in Georgia denied this information, but the leaders of the Georgian Dream made such statements regarding the possible American base that caused a separate dispute.

On September 12, in the evening of the Main Channel program Guest of the Day, journalist Lika Basilaya-Shavgulidze, referring to the employee of the US Embassy, said that two years ago, a few months before the start of the war in Ukraine, the US offered the Georgian government to locate a military base. She stated that the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had visited Georgia with this proposal. By opening a military base and offering military assistance, the Americans aimed to guarantee Georgia's security. The Georgian Dream refused the offer, which shocked the administration of the White House. According to the assessment of the "Main Channel", it was "a rejection of a historical chance equal to treason." With this decision, the government deprived the citizens of Georgia of solid security guarantees.

The Ministry of Defense of Georgia responded to this statement the next day, calling it a "complete lie in its essence", which was spread by a "politically biased person" and is being used by "separate media outlets and politically engaged persons" to "produce a disinformation campaign."

The US Embassy in Georgia responded to the information spread in the media and stated that the US has not proposed the creation of an American military base in Georgia. Temur Iakobashvili, the former ambassador of Georgia to the USA, responded to this topic and said that it was not about the creation of a military base, but "there was talk about the presence of some elements", which is also very important, and he recalled the 2008 war when the Russians could not bomb the Vaziani airfield because There were two American cargo planes.

The sudden appearance of information about the proposal to open a military base two years ago was rejected by both the Georgian authorities and the American side. This should have ended the issue, but the opposition did not believe that the issue of creating the base was not on the agenda, and the leaders of the Georgian Dream made slighting remarks towards their Western partners. According to the Main Channel, the leaders of the Georgian Dream once again used the opportunity to mock the Western partners with the Kremlin's rhetoric. The opposition is convinced that Bidzina Ivanishvili's clan would have rejected the unique possibility of a military partnership with the West in all cases.

Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze, in addition to calling the information about the opening of the American base "unserious", said that the opening of the American base in Georgia will not be a guarantee of security. According to him, NATO is the only guarantor of security for Georgia.

Georgian Dream General Secretary and the mayor of Tbilisi Kakha Kaladze expressed the same opinion. According to him, "the only thing that will guarantee the security of our country is NATO membership." But there he made a mocking and insulting statement using Georgian slang and addressed NATO. According to him, the statements made over the years about the "open door" are tiresome: "If you can be bothered, make a decision and make our country a member of NATO."

Guram Macharashvili, a member of the parliamentary majority, did not approve of the idea of placing the American base either. These statements of the leaders of the Georgian Dream became a confirmation for the opposition that the current government is against the location of the American base and looks at NATO with derision.

According to the opposition MP Teona Akubardia, the statements made by the government regarding the American base theoretically exclude the possibility of an American base in Georgia, because the current government not only does not have the political will to do so but is also afraid. The opposition called the statements about the American military's inability to guarantee Georgia's security ridiculous. Some also pointed to Taiwan, which is protected by the American military presence from the Chinese invasion. "The presence of US military bases in Georgia would have been a step forward of great importance for security," said MP Roman Gotsiridze.

Military cooperation with Western countries has been deliberately restricted throughout the rule of the Georgian Dream, and this tendency has accelerated after Russia's attack on Ukraine. Giorgi Vashadze, the leader of Strategy Agmashenebeli, recalled the American proposal in the fall of 2021 when, in addition to the military base, they offered new weapon systems for the Georgian army, which the Georgian Dream refused. According to Vashadze, that is why Irakli Gharibashvili was refused to attend the NATO summit in Vilnius. "This is not an ordinary issue, it is a betrayal of the national interests of Georgia, and both Gharibashvili and Defense Minister Burchuladze must answer for this," said Vashadze.

The ongoing debate about the non-existent American base is another confirmation that "reducing polarization" is impossible in Georgia. The government of the Georgian Dream talks to the Western partners in a stern tone and demonstratively moves towards Russia-China. Meanwhile, the opposition speaks about the need to maintain the Western orientation of the country and to use the unique chance" of receiving the status of a candidate for EU membership.