According to US Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, statements about the alleged offer of new defensive equipment to Georgia are factually incorrect.

Ambassador Degnan was asked to comment on Strategy Aghmashenebeli party leader Giorgi Vashadze’s statement that the US offered Georgia a multibillion-dollar package to strengthen its defence capabilities from the moment Russia attacked Ukraine, which the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) leadership refused.

“The recent claim about an alleged offer of new defensive equipment to Georgia is factually inaccurate. We have asked all of our partners around the world to do whatever they need to support Ukraine against Putin’s brutal war. This is because Ukraine is fighting for its freedom, for its sovereignty: it’s fighting for its independence and its freedom as a nation. We have been very clear from the beginning that it is up to each nation to decide what they can do to help Ukraine.

We’ve also been very clear, including with Georgian government officials, that we have never asked Georgia to open a second front. We have never pressured Georgia to be involved in this war. The United States does not want Georgia to be involved in this war – or any other country. We are doing everything we can, and we have been for almost a year now, to prevent this war from starting, to stop it as soon as we possibly can, so that we can restore peace and stability to the region. That is what the United States is working for: peace and security,” said Ambassador Degnan.