WASHINGTON - A senior Republican senator is urging the Obama administration and European allies to consider rearming Georgia, an action that would inevitably upset Russia.
The recommendation comes from Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, a lawmaker who has long cultivated cooperation with Russia. Lugar has been a key ally for President Obama on his pursuit of an arms control deal with Russia that has been the centerpiece of the administration’s efforts to improve relations with the Kremlin. He also is leading efforts to win Republican votes to ratify the treaty, once it has been completed.
During the brief August 2008 war, Russia destroyed much of Georgia’s military infrastructure and occupied two breakaway territories. Russia has since recognized both Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent countries and established military bases close to their borders with Georgia.
A report by Lugar’s staff warns that Georgia’s military vulnerability could lead to further instability in the Caucasus amid tensions between Georgia and Russia. It urges the administration to coordinate a strategy within NATO that strikes a balance between Georgia’s security needs and NATO’s relationship with Russia.
Following the war, the United States allocated $1 billion in aid to Georgia for rebuilding, but both the Bush and Obama administrations, as well as European countries, have withheld lethal military aid fearing that it would antagonize Moscow.
