Georgian PM to US State Department Counselor: former Ambassador's “support for two revolution attempts” in country “sincerely disappointing”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday told Derek Chollet, the Counselor of the United States Department of State, he was “sincerely disappointed” with the former US Ambassador Kelly Degnan’s “support” for “two revolution attempts” in the country between 2020 and 2023, alleging the attempts had been carried out through domestic NGOs “financed from external sources”.  

In a social media message, Kobakhidze claimed a “second frontline” of the ongoing war in Ukraine would have been opened in Georgia had the alleged attempts succeeded.

“Besides, I explained to Mr. Chollet that false statements made by officials of the US State Department about the transparency bill and street rallies remind us of similar false statements made by the former US Ambassador between 2020 and 2023, which served to facilitate violence from foreign funded actors and to support revolutionary processes back then”, Kobakhidze said in reference to criticism of the controversial Georgian draft law on transparency of foreign influence.

“Also, I clarified to Mr. Chollet that it requires a special effort to restart the relations against this background, which is impossible without a fair and honest approach”, he continued.

The PM also added he had not expressed his “concerns” with Chollet about a “brutal crackdown” of the student protest rally in New York City this week.