USA postpones Noble Partner drills in Georgia over false claims

In a statement released on Friday, the Pentagon called the decision to postpone the exercises "not taken lightly."

The statement from the U.S. Department of Defense emphasized that the decision to postpone the Noble Partner exercises is "a comprehensive review of the United States—Georgia bilateral relationship," adding that "As part of that review, the United States will indefinitely postpone this iteration of exercise." This review was initiated due to the Georgian government's policy, including the adoption of the so-called foreign agents law.

The exercises were scheduled to take place from July 25 – August 6.

"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, to pressure Georgia to open a second front against Russia to alleviate pressure on Ukraine, and of participating 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," the Pentagon said.

It was emphasized that these accusations are part of an anti-Western narrative that the ruling party, Georgian Dream, has adopted in recent months. The backdrop of this change was the mass protests against introducing Georgia's so-called foreign agents law. The Georgian Dream government has coined the theory of the Global War Party, which includes everyone who criticizes it.

"By adopting the Russian law (on foreign agents – ed.), the Georgian government has jeopardized our path to the EU. Now, because of insults and accusations against American partners, the strategic partnership—which is the basis for strengthening our defense forces and bringing them closer to NATO standards—is at risk," Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili stated on Facebook on Friday.