In his first official visit to Washington as Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvili delivered his first public speech at the Atlantic Council and highlighted the most pressuring issues facing the country.
Garibahsvili spoke about his Government's priorities, the recent developments in the Caucasus region, including the Ukraine issue, as well as Georgia's western ambitions and relationship with the United States and Russia.
Ahead of his speech, Georgia’s Prime Minister was introduced by US Senator Chris Murphy, who praised Garibashvili’s country for its democratic aspirations.
"Over the last few weeks, Ukrainian flags have been displayed in the Georgian Parliament in solidarity,” Murphy said.
Georgians have also made great sacrifices for their independence and sovereignty. In Georgia, we have seen what is possible when people take control of their own future.
During his first public statement in the United States, Garibashvili called on the international community, specifically the west, to support the Ukrainian people by putting more pressure on Russia. His comments were: "the international community needs to send clearer messages that will underpin the notion that no third party can influence the aspirations of regional countries striving to fulfill their choices of democratic political systems.”
"We strongly condemn the use of excessive force to subdue free speech,” Garibashvili said.
"Georgians declare our solidarity with the aspirations of the Ukrainian people to build a true European nation… Ukrainians should be able to decide if they want to go back to the past, or towards Europe.”
Garibashvili emphasized his Government was forward-thinking and committed to elevating its democratic values to another level. He said Georgia had proven it was a democratic nation and could be an example to other states in the region.
He also stressed that Georgia sought to become part of the Euro-Atlantic community and praised the country’s progress over the past 18 months, which included the "peaceful Parliamentary and Presidential elections and ongoing democratic reforms”.
"The Constitution was amended to create a more democratic system of checks-and-balances, redistributing excessive powers previously vested in the executive branch to Parliament,” Garibahsvili declared.
We eradicated the malicious practice of elite corruption, money laundering and Governmental pressure on business. Substantial reforms were implemented in the justice sector to ensure the independence of courts – and owing to these efforts, the courts are gradually regaining the trust it previously lost among the Georgian public.
"We understand all too well [that] independent judiciary is the cornerstone of every democracy, therefore, we have made every effort to ensure judicial reform was the most consistent and rigorous of all reforms undertaken by our Government,” he said.
Garibashvili expressed his expectations that Georgia’s economic dynamism would enable the country to become the regional hub for business and investment activities, moving beyond the current role of energy transit corridor between Europe and Central Asia.
"I should emphasize that, in the context of its regional settings, Georgia has made a significant geopolitical breakthrough – we managed to consolidate our statehood without sacrificing either our democratic principles, political stability or economic growth,” he said.
Implementing many reforms had been a challenge and the Prime Minister thanked the US for its continued support and said Georgia’ looked to the United States as "our gateway to the North Atlantic Alliance”.
He spoke about the importance of Georgia’s contribution to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and said: "despite heavy losses in Afghanistan, support of the Georgian people has not diminished and we stay fully committed to continue our contribution to the global security”.
At the previous NATO Summit in Chicago, the Alliance underlined the importance of holding free and fair Parliamentary and Presidential elections in Georgia.
"The progress [we have] already made puts us in a strong position to take the next step forward in Georgia's NATO integration,” Garibashvili said, adding that for Georgia, the upcoming NATO summit in the United Kingdom was the best opportunity to adequately reflect the country’s significant progress.
Meanwhile in regards to the difficult Russia-Georgia relationship, Garibahsvili said his Government had made various goodwill gestures toward Russia. However fundamental disagreements persisted, the Prime Minister said.
He said Russia continued to engage in provoking activities alongside the occupation line in the Tskhinvali and Abkhazia regions, including installing barbed-wire fences and embankments.
To overcome these matters, Garibashvili said the country counted on further and unwavering support from its friends and partner countries.
"The Sochi Olympic Games are over. We expect that Russia will increase political pressure on Georgia before signing the Association Agreement with the European Union,” the Prime Minister said.
In this context, we would highly appreciate the US Administration, Congress, think tanks and the NGO and media community to support us through proper and constant messaging to Russia, upholding the European choice of Georgia as a sovereign right enshrined in the OSCE Helsinki Final Act, and its European integration process.
He also expressed confidence that with Georgia’s strong will and with support and cooperation from its allies, his country would proceed resolutely with reforms, make Georgia’s advancement toward European and Euro-Atlantic future irreversible, and further reinforce the country’s strategic bond with the United States.