US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Georgia, Ukraine, Romania, and Belgium next week, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

“The secretary and his team will be preparing for a trip to Europe next week. They will stay in Georgia, Ukraine, and Romania, and he (Austin) will conclude this important visit with allies and partners in Brussels, where NATO Defence Ministers will meet," Kirby said at a press conference.

He did not provide details of Austin's visit to the former Soviet republics.

Relations between the countries of Georgia and the United States continue to be very close and encompass multiple areas of bilateral cooperation. As one of the key U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, Georgia was the third largest troop contributor in the Iraq War. The United States is actively assisting Georgia in strengthening its state institutions in face of increasing pressure from its northern neighbour Russia and has provided the country with financial assistance in excess of 3 billion dollars since 1991. Since 2009, Georgian–American relations have been streamlined by the U.S.–Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, which created four bilateral working groups on priority areas of democracy; defence and security; economic, trade, energy issues; and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

The United States works closely with Georgia to promote mutual security, counterterrorism interests and provides Georgia with bilateral security assistance, including English-language and military professional training, through the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program.

Much like its western allies, the United States condemned Russia's intrusion into Georgia's sovereign territory and while it abstained from direct military action, Washington used military aircraft and naval forces to deliver aid to Georgia to signal its strong support. Following the war, at the advice of then Vice President Biden, the U.S. appropriated one billion dollars to help Georgia rebuild.