U.S. embassy denies info about Washington's proposal on deploying military base in Georgia

TBILISI. Sept 13 (Interfax) - The U.S. Embassy in Georgia on Wednesday denied the information spread by an oppositional television channel saying that the U.S. offered Tbilisi to start negotiations on opening a U.S. military base in Georgia.

"[...] the United States has not offered to establish a U.S. military base in Georgia," the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

U.S.-Georgian relations in the defense sector have always been based on strengthening compatibility and supporting Georgia in terms of deterring aggression and protecting its sovereign territory, which the embassy says also contributes to Georgia's preparedness for joining NATO.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Georgian Defense Ministry also denied this information, describing the media report as "a complete lie."

"This information is being disseminated by a politically biased person, which is then used by certain media outlets and politically biased individuals to carry out a campaign of disinformation," the Georgian ministry said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who visited Georgia several months before the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, invited the ruling Georgian Dream party to hold talks on establishing a military base, the opposition Mtavari Arkhi television channel said on Tuesday. Austin's proposal was declined by the Georgian authorities, but they concealed this, the television channel said.