“Georgia has stronger, more developed and European democracy than before we came into power,” said Archil Talakvadze, Vice-Speaker of the Georgian Parliament remarking on the July 12 statement of Uzra Zeya, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

According to Archil Talakvadze, this needs objective assessment from Georgia’s partners. In his words, Georgia is a stronger state today.

“Our soldiers fought together with NATO and our allies’ soldiers in the hottest spots of the world and never retreated in the most difficult moments. They sacrificed their health, and lives and now, along with everything else, we learn that the financing that our strategic partner allocated for Georgian soldiers is redirected to the budget of non-governmental organizations. This is inconceivable.

However, Georgia today is a stronger state with a defense system and a strong army of international standards. Therefore, we will ensure to finance our soldiers and the defense system with the increased budget and economy. Amendments to be made to the budget are initiated. It will be more than 100 million and our parliament will support the increased budget for our army,” he said.

EU has frozen its support for Georgia from the European Peace Facility – EUR 30 million for 2024. On July 5, the US Department of State announced the indefinite postponement of the Noble Partner exercise in Georgia, originally scheduled for July 25 – August 6, 2024, as part of the US-Georgia relationship review.