In an interview with the Rustavi 2 TV channel, the new Georgian Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze spoke about the partnership between Georgia and the United States, the local production of weapons and the purchase of foreign weapons. Recalling a telephone conversation with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin on March 4, Minister Burchuladze noted that he had told his colleague that the Georgian Defense Ministry would not penetrate the depths of the political crisis in the country. "I stressed that our government will never cross the red lines of democracy,"- he added.

According to Juansher Burchuladze, he promised his American counterpart that the Georgian military will remain in Afghanistan until the end of the NATO peacekeeping mission. "We are ready, everywhere, together with our partners, to fight for world peace on a global scale," the Minister stressed.

According to the Minister of Defense, for his part, "the new US administration is ready to do more to protect democracy in the region and for our partnership," which, according to him, is confirmed by "telephone conversations, exchange visits (and) visits of their fleet to the port (of Georgia)."

"Naturally, both sides agree that Russia's aggressive risks in the region are growing, and, in my personal opinion, this will further accelerate our integration into NATO," said Juansher Burchuladze.

In the interview, the Defense Minister also stressed the importance of strengthening military production in the context of the readiness of the country's defense forces. "We are working with partners on joint production of drones and various weapons, which will lead to results in the near future," he said, adding that last month he visited Poland and the Czech Republic for this purpose. According to Burchuladze, the defense ministry has already repaired the Su-25 fighter, and every next month there will be another rehabilitated fighter in the country. According to the Defense minister, local production has resumed at the Delta Military Science and Technology Center, and at the same time, Georgia plans to purchase foreign weapons, including the American Javelin anti-tank system, which was first adopted by Georgia in 2018, when Levan Izoria was the minister.

Juansher Burchuladze also recalled the agreement signed with Israel in 2020, on the basis of which the Georgian air defense system will be "fully restored and modernized", and said that the process has already begun. "We will receive the product before the end of this year," the defense minister said.

civil.ge