U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has met with politicians and a church leader in Tbilisi. Pompeo on Wednesday held talks with President Salome Zurabishvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch, Ilia II, as well as civil society representatives.

PM Gakharia expressed gratitude for the continuous U.S. support to Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, underscoring that “the moment has come for increased U.S. presence in the region,” as well as for the strengthening of the U.S.-Georgian partnership and cooperation.

When asked, “What kind of actions may the U.S., NATO be ready for?” Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe told the Accent: “I don’t know what nations are willing to do yet. But three things are certain:

• Georgia should be in NATO;
• The United States should pay much more attention tom the Caucasus region;
• The United States should being to establish infrastructure for air, ground and maritime rotational forces to be more frequently”;

As he stated, “lack of sustained attention and investment of the U.S. in this region over the past decades to compete fully and completely in all domains has enabled the Kremlin to achieve “Russian boots on the ground” in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.”

“We have had excellent diplomats representing the U.S. in each nation for years. And the state partnership programs by our U.S. National Guard have helped to maintain important connections. My criticism is not of them. It’s of an overall lack of attention and appreciation for the strategic importance of this region. I hold myself to blame as well. I did not fully appreciate the strategic importance of the region until my first visit there when I was commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command. This is about great power competition. We have to compete in all domains: diplomacy, information, military and economy. Failure to do so on a sustained, consistent basis, invites Kremlin aggression as we have seen across the Black Sea for the last 12 years,” Hodges said.

As for the importance of increased US presence in the region, he said that “the U.S. leadership is key to sending a strong message of assurance to our friends in the region and to encouraging private investment there.”

“It’s also important to demonstrate to the Kremlin and to the Chinese Communist Party that we have strategic interests there, which will get our attention and resources.” Hodges added.

He also spoke about the U.S.-Turkey relations and noted that “Pompeo did not meet government officials on Turkey trip, which is a missed opportunity.”

“We have to repair our relationship with Turkey. Turkey is key to stability and security in the Black Sea region and the Caucasus. I don’t understand why secretary Pompeo bypassed meeting Turkish Government officials when he was in Istanbul. This is a missed opportunity to restore the trust we need between Turkey and the U.S.” he said.

Given the new reality in the region, Hodge said: “the government of Georgia must ensure that elections and governmental functions are fair, transparent and in keeping with expectations of a liberal democracy. Georgia must also work hard to attract private investment from the west.”

“Unfortunately the Government and the Parliament of Georgia have recently prevented the port of Anaklia project (to the delight of the Kremlin) and also hindered development of telecommunication connections between Eurasia and Europe. The government owes it to its own people to attract private investment as a means to increase prosperity and opportunity for the very talented young woman and men of Georgia,” he added.

/Marika Chubinidze