Obama May Block Arms Sales to Georgia

U.S. President Barack Obama may decline to implement a portion of a defense appropriation bill that would resume American arms sells to Georgia, Civil.ge reported.

After signing the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, which appropriates funds and directs U.S. defense policy, Obama released a presidential signing statement declaring that he would treat certain portions of the bill, including one that applied to Georgia, as “non-binding,” according to Eurasianet.org.

Section 1242, which dealt with Georgia, called on the U.S. defense secretary to enact a “plan of normalization” of defense cooperation with the country that would include the sale of “defense articles and services” as well as encouraging “NATO member and candidate countries to restore and enhance their sales of defensive articles and services to the Republic of Georgia as part of a broader NATO effort to deepen its defense relationship and cooperation” with Georgia, according to Civil.ge.

The president’s signing statement said that some sections of the bill, including section 1242, would interfere with his "constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations by directing the Executive to take certain positions in negotiations or discussions with foreign governments.”

In the statement he said that any sections that interfered with his executive authority would be treated as “non-binding.”

Eurasianet.org’s Joshua Kucera wrote that Obama’s apparent attempt to ignore that provision of the bill explains why “Moscow wasn't going ballistic (metaphorically) over it and Tbilisi wasn't gloating.” In the past, Russia has vociferously opposed any resumption of arms sales to Georgia and Georgia has repeatedly called purchases of American weapons essential to its defense.