Click to see full-size image
On October 18th, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin began his three-nation visit by landing in Georgia’s Tbilisi.
Wheels down in Georgia. The United States is committed to helping Georgia build its defense capacity and advance its Euro-Atlantic integration, and I’m looking forward to my meetings here. pic.twitter.com/TJy25tfn90
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) October 18, 2021
Austin also tweeted that he looked forward to meeting with his “counterparts and other senior officials” to reiterate the United States’ commitment to its allies in the region.
He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and other high officials of the Black Sea nation.
From Georgia, Austin will move on to Ukraine and Romania before ending up in Brussels on October 21 to take part in a two-day NATO summit.
The Biden administration needs to pay more attention to Georgia to head off a potential tilt toward Russia as well as China, said political scientist David Kramer at Florida International University, who is a former senior US diplomat.
“There is growing concern that the government is a little too flexible to Moscow,” he said.
“Part of that is frustration with a lack of progress that they see toward integration with NATO.”
In Ukraine, Austin will meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Minister of Defense Andrii Taran to reiterate Washington’s support the Kiev government.
The visit to Kiev will also serve as an opportunity for the US Defense Secretary to outline Ukraine’s defense requirements to meet its Euro-Atlantic needs.
As per the Defense Department, Austin will stress in both Georgia and Ukraine that there is an open door to NATO and encourage the nations to make the changes necessary for them to qualify for membership in the defensive alliance.
Austin is also going to recognize the nations for their support. “In terms of sacrifices, it is important to note that Georgia … was the top, per capita contributor to the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, and suffered many losses from that mission,” the official said.
Austin said “no third country has a veto over NATO’s membership decisions. Ukraine, as you heard me say earlier, has a right to decide its own future foreign policy and we expect that they will be able to do that without any outside interference.”
Officials called Romania a “role-model ally,” and Austin will express America’s appreciation. “Romania … is doing just about everything that we could possibly ask of a NATO ally, so we have the opportunity to recognize that and appreciate that,” the official said.
In Romania, Austin will meet with President Klaus Iohannis and Minister of National Defense Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca.
The visit to Romania also aims to bolster bilateral strategic partnership and strengthen NATO’s Eastern Flank as well as recognize Romania’s leadership in Black Sea security issues.
Austin will also visit American servicemen based in the US airbase located in southeastern Romania near the Black Sea.
In Belgium, Austin will participate in his first in-person NATO defense ministerial summit.
All this ties into the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels. Austin will meet with alliance defense ministers to chart the course based on the agreement of national leaders at the summit in June. This is the first in-person ministerial since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and officials said Austin will participate in a full slate of meetings at the alliance level and bilaterally with many allies.
The ministers will study the NATO 2030 agenda that looks to keep the alliance strong and relevant into the future. The leaders will also discuss Russia and, increasingly, they’re discussing the problems posed by China.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
“NATO’s Eastern Flank” without Turkey?
Romania is the model-servant. He is right about that. Turks can be called wolves, but Romanians are nothing more than dogs.
Counting from the Gorbachev years, the FIRST dogs were Russians, or at least those Russians who were/are in power. The unfortunate “dog” period has stretched all the way to today. All the modern dogs of Eastern Europe (and much wider) can trace their origin to Russia. None of the perceived younger European dogs has been worse to the Russian dogs than the Russian dogs had been to them. Russia is a lonely dog.
Georgia= Bye bye Abjazia, Ossetia Ukraine= bye bye Crimea and Donbass Romania= bye bye Moldova and the Romania integration. USA= Dont worry be happy
Look, it’s Token all grown up and playing house niggah for Uncle Shlomo. Is he related to Semi-Colon Powell, who just passed away due to ahem, ahem…Covid complications despite being double-vaxxed, but that’s all another topic.
It’s impressive to see just how politicians are literally stupid or bought and paid for. NATO is nothing more than a cash cow for the US military complex including suppliers. Most countries buy military stuff from the US and poorer countries are used to sell used equipment.
People need to start to wake up for crying out loud! If you are part of NATO, you are a US stooge and they could not give a crap about your country. They only want your business disguised as a protection racket.
Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Region are dangerous flashpoints for the outbreak of WWIII. Yet the Indo-Pacific looks the most likely place it will begin. That is will happen seems a certainty. https://www.ghostsofhistory.wordpress.com/
Ukraine is not relevant. And Romania and Georgia are moving closer to Russia by the day. Crumbling pedonazi americant empire is alone in its final hours…
he actually used the term eastern front? what a complete moron
nothing like a war to distract from the idiocy of the illegal government in DC
As soon as his military career ended he joined the board of Raytheon directors. It is his job now to promote war and destruction for the new york and london shareholder class. A good ni**er who does what he is told.
White anglo saxon and zionist perverts and pedotrash pat him on the head and tell him he is doing well. A complete sellout of a supposed “human being”. Led US forces in Iraq from 2010 = a mass murderer.
That’s nice. His stated goal is to keep two neighboring countries hostile towards each other. Russia / China should travel to Mexico and inform them of their concern of their ’tilt towards DC’ and require assurance that Mexico will continue the flood of immigrants and drugs into the U.S. in return for more advanced weapons.