ASD Vershbow interview on Imedi TV
October 20, 2009
Q. You are leading
an interagency U.S.
Government team under the U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership to meet
with the Georgian Government. What are the main topics of discussion of this
first round of working group meetings?
ASD Vershbow: Well first
let me say it’s been a great pleasure to be here in Georgia, which is a country I first
visited forty years ago, and I’m very pleased to be in a country that is now a
thriving democracy and a fast developing economy. The United States is very committed to Georgia’s
security, and the meetings that we had today were an important part of strengthening
our partnership in the area of security and defense. This was the first working
group meeting to be convened under the U.S.-Georgia Charter. I think it’s
important that we started with security which is the foundation of all the
other dimensions of our relationship.
In today’s meeting, we
discussed the progress of Georgian defense reforms, ways the U.S. can assist Georgia. We are quite
committed to a long-term process of helping Georgia to strengthen its defense
reforms and its defense modernization programs. We‘re starting at this
stage with a focus on doctrine, education and training, and this is I think a
good way to raise the professional standards of the Georgian military. But this
is a long term process and it’s a long term commitment by the United States because we fully accept that Georgia is a sovereign country and we want to do
everything we can to support Georgia’s
sovereignty and independence. We also heard good things from the Georgian side
about how its reform efforts are going and also very strong assurances about
Georgia’s commitment to stability to responsible behavior in the region and to
the non-use of force in resolving problems here in the region, and so I think
we are off to a very good start for the security partnership.
Q. Do you think
it’s fair to say that it is easier for the Russia
occupation forces to advance today than before given that two regions in Georgia are
occupied and there’s on-going military build-up in these regions? The Russian
fleet controls the territorial waters of breakaway Abkhazia and Russian forces
are stationed in close proximity to Tbilisi.
What kinds of deterrent factors may be employed?
ASD Vershbow: I think we
certainly are concerned about the Russian military presence in the occupied
territories and we continue to urge full compliance with the terms of the
August 2008 ceasefire agreements. And more generally, we are actively engaged
with the Russians in order to try to reduce tensions in the region and reduce
the danger of any further conflict. One means to that end is an effort to
persuade the Russians to agree to the reintroduction of international observers
or monitors into Abkhazia and South Ossetia so
that there’s less of a danger that some small incident could escalate into a
new conflict. But I think the issue of preventing a new conflict goes beyond
the question of the military disposition of forces. It relates to our
broader efforts to support Georgia’s security, its sovereignty, its
independence, to help with economic recovery -- which I think has been going
well since the war -- and generally to demonstrate that Georgia has close
friends, first and foremost the United States, who will stand up for its
sovereignty and independence.
Q. The U.S. is applying the so-called reset policy
towards Russia; therefore it
is trying not to irritate Moscow.
Under such circumstances, can Georgia
expect substantial military assistance from the U.S. ? Or should Georgia only rely on Russia’s common sense, good will
and peaceful intentions? Especially as the Georgian army suffered a great deal
as a result of August 2008 war.
ASD Vershbow: Let me say,
first, that our efforts to reset the relationship with Russia are not
going to be at the expense of the security or the independence of our friends.
At the same time, I think it is an important opportunity to create more
stability in a key relationship -- the relationship between United States and Russia
-- and to expand areas of cooperation so that we are able to have a more
productive dialogue with Russia
on issues such as Georgia.
This is a subject we discuss. We don’t always agree, but we make very clear to
our Russian friends that solutions to the problems must be based on diplomacy
and not the use of force, and that we will stand by our friends and that there
is no tradeoff between the interests of a close partner like Georgia and our
pursuit of a better relationship with Russia.
Q. Can the Caucasus become part of the new anti-missile shield? How
much has the plan progressed and when will be its details revealed?
ASD Vershbow: Let me put an
end to some speculation on this subject. The United
States is consulting with our allies in NATO on the new
approach that President Obama announced on the 17th of September,
and this is an approach which we believe will provide a more effective
ballistic missile defense for Europe. It will
deal with some of the threats that already exist today and will evolve and
adapt to deal with future threats that may emerge. But we are not discussing
the deployment of elements of this system on the territory of non-members of
NATO. Our focus is on our allies. But I would say that the development of this
system should benefit countries like Georgia
because it will, hopefully, deter countries like Iran who are developing long-range
missiles from trying to threaten neighboring countries with the ballistic
missile capabilities that they have and may develop in the future.
Q. On this
anti-missile shield again. When will be its details revealed?
ASD Vershbow: Well, a lot
of the details are out there. If you follow the briefings that have been given
by my boss, Secretary of Defense Gates, and by other spokesmen of the US government,
this is a system that involves several phases and a mixture of systems on ships
and on land. And it involves a wide network of both defensive systems and
sensors that together will provide a very effective defense of our allies in Europe. But we are only at an early stage of
engaging with our allies on this subject and we stand ready to answer any and
all questions about this new system. As I said, it is a contribution to defense
and to deterrence of potential attacks on our allies and I think it can be of
benefit to all European states.
Q. Let’s go back to
Georgia-Russia relations. Secretary Clinton stressed again in Moscow
that Georgia remains the
issue that the U.S. and Russia cannot
agree on. What can the U.S.
do to get Russia’s
understanding and consequent support on this matter?
ASD Vershbow: Well, it’s
certainly true that Georgia
is a subject that we discuss frequently with the Russians and that we don’t
always agree on. But I think that our dialogue with Russia is one of the many avenues
that we have to try to reduce tensions in the region, to discourage the
Russians from any renewal of hostilities, and to create more stable conditions
that can allow all the states of the region to develop their economies without
any fear of renewed military conflict. So this will remain a priority in our
dialogue, and as we try to develop cooperation with the Russians in other areas
-- such as Afghanistan,
missile defense, dealing with the nuclear challenge from Iran -- we’ll continue to try to turn this issue
from one of disagreement into one of cooperation in the interest of long term
stability in the Caucasus.
Q. And my last
question on North Atlantic alliance. You said
at the working group meeting that the U.S.
will help Georgia
on its way to NATO integration. What concrete steps can be taken in the short
term for bringing Georgia
closer to NATO?
ASD Vershbow: NATO itself,
of course, has established a mechanism with which Georgia can advance its pursuit of
NATO membership -- the Annual National Program. As part of our bilateral
dialogue in the working group today and in future consultations we will provide
our advice on how Georgia
can more quickly meet NATO standards and respond to some of the comments and
criticisms that may be coming from the Alliance.
But I think also that our bilateral efforts to help Georgia with its own defense reforms
-- with its restructuring of its armed forces, with improved training, the
development of a new doctrine, and a new national strategy -- all these things
complement the work that is going on within the framework of the NATO Annual
National program.
S. I know you are
heading straight to the airport and back to the U.S. I want to thank you very much
for your interview. And have a nice trip back home.
ASD Vershbow: Thank you
very much for the opportunity.
