Russia's plan to turn the Ochamchira port in Abkhazia into a military base aims to transfer the confrontation to the Black Sea, including into Georgian territorial waters. US Assistant Secretary of State and Sanctions Policy Coordinator Jim O’Brien recalled this. Thus, he commented on the statements of the leaders of the Georgian Dream that the West allegedly wants to drag Georgia into a war after the start of Russia’s full-scale military aggression in Ukraine.

“It is Russia that is dragging Georgia into the war in Ukraine. Moscow begins construction of a gigantic military port on the territory of Abkhazia it occupies. Kidnappings and sometimes murders of Georgian citizens continue, and the occupation of the territory continues,” O’Brien said.

He also emphasized that the United States supports the desire of 80% of Georgian citizens to join the European Union. At the same time, the law on foreign agents, which the current authorities intend to adopt, involves a lot of restrictions and does not correspond to the values of Europe and the transatlantic space.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili previously called for preventing Russian dominance in the Black Sea. According to her, EU membership for Georgia is security and the only prospect for a country that shares European values from the point of view of civilization.