On July 5, the US Department of Defense announced the indefinite postponement of the Noble Partner exercise in Georgia scheduled for July 25-August 6 this year. The statement says that the decision was made after the US initiated a comprehensive review of US-Georgia bilateral relations.
“On May 30, the US government began a full review of all bilateral cooperation with Georgia. The decision to postpone this iteration of NOBLE PARTNER is due to the Georgian government’s false accusations against the United States and other Western entities, that we pressured Georgia to open a second front against Russia to alleviate pressure on Ukraine, and that we participated in two coup attempts against the ruling party. As such, the United States Government has determined that this is an inappropriate time to hold a large-scale military exercise in Georgia,” – notes the statement.
The statement emphasized that the US plans to continue working with the Georgian Defense Forces to strengthen Georgia’s ability to protect its sovereignty and maintain its territorial integrity, noting: “We have not made this decision lightly, and we place great consideration on the extensive value that our Allies and Partners add to exercises such as NOBLE PARTNER. The United States looks forward to future opportunities to cooperate with Allies and Partners, including AGILE SPIRIT in 2025.”
In a statement Georgian Ministry of Defense expressed “regret” over the US announcement and pointed out that cooperation in other formats, including as an AGILE partner, will continue.
