Georgian Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze has responded to a recent open letter published by US Congressman Markwayne Mullin on ‘the deteriorating economic climate’ in Georgia, by saying that Georgia listens to the official statements of the US government.
Top officials of the US State Department and our American partners say that Georgia has irreversible progress in terms of development of democratic institutions and human rights and that Georgia is one of the most reliable partners of the US in the security field,” Talakvadze said.
He stated that the congressman’s letter mainly concerns the international dispute between Georgia and an American company Frontera, which drills for oil and gas in Eastern Georgia per a contract signed with the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation back in 1997.
Georgia will protect its interests in the dispute [in the Hague Court of Arbitration],” Talakvadze said.
Vice Parliament Speaker Giorgi Volski says that the letter is “biased.”
As far as I know about 200 American companies are registered in Georgia and none of them have been attacked so far,” Volski said.
Independent MP Beka Natsvlishvili [who previously was a member of the ruling Georgian Dream party] says that the congressman “allowed himself to protect the interests of the company [Frontera] which has violated the fundamental human rights of Georgian citizens.”
Mullin said, despite Georgia's progress since declaring its independence in 1991, "recent years have revealed a continuous negative trend in democratic and free market economic indicators." Photo: Flickr.
The employees of Frontera in Georgia [referring to Frontera Eastern Georgia company] have not received salaries in 11 months,” Natsvlishvili said.
Leader of the Lelo for Georgia political party Mamuka Khazaradze has called the letter “alarming,” saying that such statements by foreign partners “place Georgia-US cooperation under a question mark.”
Leader of the European Georgia opposition party Sergi Kapanadze has stated that such letters “must make the Georgian government wake up.”
Kapanadze says that both American and European partners are “concerned” by the situation in the country and the actions of the current Georgian government.
Mullin, who is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, has sent a letter to Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia with concerns about the "deteriorating economic climate" for foreign direct investment (FDI), in particular for US energy companies in the country, citing Frontera.