Obama and Georgia: A Year-Long Awkward Silence

Author(s): George Khelashvili
Editor(s): Iris Kempe, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Lili Di Puppo
Series: Caucasus Analytical Digest (CAD)
Issue: 13
Pages: 8-10
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Jefferson Institute, Washington D.C.; Heinrich Böll Foundation, Tbilisi; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen
Publication Year: 2010

The Obama administration is struggling to make sense of Georgia's place in US foreign policy. So far, this has turned out to be a rather uneasy task as it is difficult for Washington to explicitly admit that Georgia only has a limited strategic value for US interests, especially after years of massive political and economic assistance to Tbilisi under the Bush administration. Georgia is important only in the regional context of Caspian energy and security in the Caucasus. Therefore, Washington's strategic activity in Georgia has been rather low-key and is likely to remain such for the foreseeable future. The US might consider strengthening its role in the region either because of energy security considerations or some large-scale disturbance caused by aggressive Russian actions, aimed at enhancing Moscow's influence in the post-Soviet space.

Download:

English (PDF)