Georgian Parliament Speaker rejects “preconditions” for inviting Georgian PM to US in response to Ambassador’s claims

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said officials of the country holding a visit to the United States “with reservations” did “not fit into the spirit of the strategic partnership” with the country, in response to US Ambassador Robin Dunnigan on Thursday saying senior members of the Georgian Government had recently been invited to “engage directly with the most senior leaders” in the US to discuss the partnership and address “concerns”, before the Georgian side “chose not to accept this invitation”.

The Georgian foreign office on Thursday said the country's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze had been invited to the US “with the precondition of temporarily suspending” the Parliamentary discussions of the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence, which the Ministry said was “not in line with the spirit of partnership”.

Papuashvili said “setting preconditions” while inviting the Georgian Prime Minister did “not fit friendly relations”.

It is unfortunate that the United States Ambassador made a statement with such an interpretation. [...] Of course, conducting a visit with reservations does not fit into the spirit of the strategic partnership. We are always ready to talk both with the Ambassador and our partners in America”, he said.

The Georgian bill calls for the registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.

Its reintroduction by the ruling party has been met with rallies in the country and criticism by some of Georgia’s international partners.