If Georgia attracts more Western investment, the West will be interested in protecting it - Ben Hodges

The Anaklia port project failed due to the Kremlin's influence, - US General Ben Hodges said in an interview with VOA.

The general is convinced that if the Georgian government had wanted to build a port, no one would have been able to prevent it. He said that if Georgia attracted more Western investment, the West would  be interested in protecting Georgia.

If more Western investments are made in the Black Sea region, I think Western countries will be more interested in the security of that region. But frankly speaking, serious investors are now afraid because governments in the region are not transparent, they have no reason to think that investments will return with profit. The Kremlin encourages this through influence or misinformation. I think that's why the Anaklia port project is not over, it's connected with the Kremlin's influence. I don't think the government wants to build this port, if they wanted it, the port would have been built," said Ben Hodges.