U.S. State Secretary Meets Georgian Foreign Minister

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met his Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze in Washington on March 15.

Speaking before the meeting, Secretary Kerry reiterated “unequivocally the United States’ support for Georgia’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity.”

“We applaud the current focus in Georgia on economic development and on building the economic opportunity for the people of Georgia,” he said.

“We believe that an independent, unified, and prosperous Georgia is essential to the peace and stability of the Caucasus,” the U.S. Secretary of State said.

“We also appreciate very much Georgia’s significant contributions to the efforts in Afghanistan and its active counterterrorism support, which is essential, on a regional basis. We very much support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations and we support their efforts to pursue a closer integration with both the United States and with Europe,” he said.

Kerry said that he will try to visit Georgia “somewhere perhaps in June or perhaps shortly thereafter.”

“We are trying to make plans to get there because Georgia is an important friend of the United States and we want to make clear to Georgians the depth of our support for their struggle for full independence and for the full territorial and sovereign respect of its borders,” Kerry said.

Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze, who is visiting the U.S. this week, said that “just as the United States has stood with Georgia over the past 25 years, Georgia stands shoulder to shoulder with the United States in ensuring global security.”

“The relationship between our two countries at all levels of government has never been stronger,” he said.