U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (L) meets with Georgian Minister of Defense Juansher Burchuladze (R) in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday. Photo by EPA-EFE/STROct. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed a new security agreement with Georgia Monday, seeking to buttress relations with the Black Sea nation as it continues to face Russian troops in two of its regions. "I'm honored to join Minister Burchuladze in signing a memorandum of understanding on the Georgia Defense and Deterrence Enhancement Initiative," Austin said during a signing ceremony. Austin will also visit Ukraine and Romania on the Black Sea regional tour before attending the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels. The new defense initiative is meant to help the Georgia Defense Ministry become more efficient, more effective and more interoperable with NATO, picking up where the expiring, $53 million agreement left off, the Pentagon said.