U.S. Ambassador-Designate to Georgia stresses on Russian aggression at Senate Hearing
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, October 31
The United States President Donald Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan gave testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on October 29. She has pledged “to help the Georgian government and people build a resilient, prosperous society that values it’s rich and diverse heritage and can withstand the pressures of Russian malign activities and growing Chinese influence.”
Degnan started her speech by stressing her familiarity with the Georgian context although she has not yet had a chance to visit Georgia.
“I was serving in Turkey when Russia invaded Georgia in August 2008. A year later, I served at NATO, where Georgia was, and is, a valued partner. Allies reaffirmed just last year NATO’s 2008 pledge that Georgia will become a member of NATO. During my 3 years at NATO, I was very impressed by Georgia’s commitment to reforming and strengthening its institutions and military. I saw that same commitment serving in Afghanistan, where Georgia has deployed one of the largest contingents of forces, fighting with no caveats, and at the cost of 32 Georgian lives, and 290 wounded. Georgia is still with us there, with almost 900 soldiers deployed to NATO’s Resolute Support Mission.” – said Degnan.
US Ambassador nominee, who has been Foreign Policy Advisor to U.S. Naval Forces Europe also underscored the fact, that Georgia is a “key partner in a geostrategic region of vital importance to the United States” calling our security cooperation “outstanding.” Ambassador-nominee remembered Georgia’s support of U.S and NATO efforts in the Black sea, mentioning this year's “major, multilateral exercise in the Black Sea, involving 14 countries, including the U.S.”
Kelly Degnan emphasized Georgia's European integration course and the importance of NATO-Georgia cooperation, noting that she admired Georgia's commitment to reforms.
“We will continue our steadfast support of Georgia as it seeks NATO membership and economic integration with the EU and the West. Our work together is aimed at strengthening Georgia’s capacity to defend its borders, while it builds a prosperous, integrated, democratic society. If confirmed, I look forward to working with the Georgian government on these and other priorities," stated Degnan.
In her speech, the US Ambassador to Georgia emphasized the importance of an independent justice system and media pluralism.
“The progress Georgia has made hasn’t been easy, and in many cases, it has come through U.S. engagement and foreign assistance. Georgia has repaid that investment by taking concrete action, such as increasing parliamentary oversight, and making significant judicial reforms. There is still much work to be done to hold and build on those achievements, especially in promoting a pluralistic legislature, an independent judiciary, a diverse media, and a vibrant civil society."
She also noted that if approved, she is ready to work with all parties in Georgia to ensure free and fair elections next year.
In her address to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the nominee for US ambassador to Georgia touched on the issue of Georgia's occupied regions and stressed the need for Russia to fulfill its ceasefire obligations.
“The United States will continue to be a vocal advocate of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We strongly condemn the ongoing occupation of Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions by Russian forces, and Russia’sattempts at “borderization” of the Administrative Boundary Line,” stated Degnan.
According to her, the solution to this conflict, “which was created by Russian aggression, is for Russia to fulfill all of its obligations under the 2008 ceasefire agreement, including withdrawing its forces to pre-conflict positions, allowing humanitarian access, and reversing its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”
She also noted that “Georgia’s tenacity in the face of Russian malign activities is clear from its efforts to create a transparent business environment and spur much-needed economic growth.” Degnan added that she would make it a priority to “promote a level playing field, to foster economic development, and create more opportunities for U.S. companies."
Responding to the committee question concerning Georgia’s NATO membership aspirations, Degnan stressed that “NATO being a political-military organization has very high standards.” She said “Georgia is aware of what [these] expectations are” and that it “made progress, especially in the military area and is working hard on meeting political standards as well.”
Degnan stressed that U.S. will continue to assist Georgia on its NATO path since the Allies stand behind their 2008 pledge to offer Georgia eventual membership, “but it is upon Georgia also to meet those very high standards, political-military requirements that are essential to NATO’s strength.”
Responding to question on how to better make evident the U.S. support towards Georgia against Russian invasion, Degnan said “we have demonstrated importance of continued vocal advocacy for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and strong commitment to supporting Georgia as it makes reforms necessary to strengthen institutions to follow on the path it has chosen – to integrate into European Union and the West.”
Answering questions, the US diplomat spoke about the importance of the Geneva International Discussions, noting that in addition to the EU Monitoring Mission, an OSCE mission could be set up to monitor the situation in the occupied territories.
“Rge the capabilities of some mechanisms, such as the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism, are not fully utilized, and we and other participants in the Geneva International Discussions are constantly seeking to activate this mechanism. We urge the EUMM to have more access to the occupied territories. It is also possible to set up an OSCE observer mission to achieve greater transparency and understand what is happening in the occupied territories... This would greatly help us to break Russian aggression and control. At the same time, the most important and fundamental assistance we can render to Georgia is to advocate for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”- Degnan said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, David Zalkaniani welcomed the speech made by US Ambassador Nominee to Georgia at a meeting of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“I welcome the nomination of a new US Ambassador to Georgia. I think that the remaining procedures will pass quickly and the ambassador will be able to come to Georgia and start work immediately. It is important that the ambassador who comes with this attitude and has such desires to translate this into practical cooperation and this will be so, as the strategic partnership between Georgia and the United States and the level of relationship we have is the highest in recent years,” noted Zalkaliani.
As David Bakradze, leader of the parliamentary opposition party “European Georgia” noted, Kelly Degnan put the three right and correct accents at the first public hearing – “protecting Georgia's security and deterring Russian aggression, supporting Georgia's NATO membership and supporting the country's internal democracy, including holding free and democratic elections, is an important message.”
US President Donald Trump nominated Kelly Degnan as ambassador to Georgia in early September. Degnan currently serves as a political adviser to the US Navy Commander in Europe and Africa. Prior to this position, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission to the US Diplomatic Mission in Italy, Deputy Executive Secretary to the State Department, and Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States in Kosovo.
