PM Garibashvili: Georgia-US relations “strong as ever”, our friendship based on “shared values”

Americans and Georgians are “built for a long-term partnership” and the two nations look forward to the “next decades” of their cooperation, the United States Embassy in Tbilisi said on Thursday in a statement dedicated to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Georgia is a democratic state based on the rule of law and bound by a “valuable unity” with its partners and NATO, which has been “repeatedly demonstrated” through democratic reforms and contribution to global security, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Thursday in an event for the 2022 NATO-Georgia Exercise.

The contribution of the United States to strengthening Georgia is invaluable, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said on Thursday in comments marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has delivered a speech in celebration of 30 years of diplomatic relations between Georgia and the US at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia earlier today. Ambassador Degnan reaffirmed that Georgia and the US are "strategic partners," and the US is "very proud" to be assisting Georgia in strengthening democracy.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili called on “all political groups” in the country to “stand with” the Government in a “common position” on the European Union membership of the state.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and President Salome Zourabichvili, along with US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan, attended a solidarity concert marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries on Saturday evening.

Georgia’s “greatest victory” will be “its success in building a prosperous, secure, vibrant democracy”, United States Ambassador Kelly Degnan said on Sunday at a Tbilisi concert marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili urged the public to avoid “emotions and provocations” amid “challenges” on Monday as he revealed a Government package estimated to create new jobs starting next month.

The visa-free travel with the European Union is a “wonderful opportunity for enhancing people-to-people contacts”, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani tweeted on Monday on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the agreement with the EU.

Georgia’s Government did “a lot of work” to achieve visa-free travel with the European Union for its citizens, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at Monday’s Government meeting on the fifth anniversary of the agreement.

Georgia’s European integration is a long-term process that must eventually lead to a full European Union membership, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili said on Monday.

The European Commission’s consideration of Georgia’s bid for European Union membership has started, with the country awaiting the next development “in the near future”, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said on Monday.

The United States Department of State has $88 million in support for Georgia included in the draft budget for 2023, published on Monday.

The United States is Georgia’s main strategic partner and “everything will be done” to deepen the relations between the two states, Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Wednesday.

American Senator Chris Coons, who is the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will lead a congressional delegation this week in visits to France, Georgia and Italy.

The United States will allocate $35 million to Georgia for the country to strengthen its defence capabilities against threats from Russia, Voice of America's Georgian service reported on Wednesday.

The United States House of Representatives has approved the Georgia Support Act, establishing a “strategic partnership” between the two countries “at the legislative level”, the Georgian foreign office said on Thursday.

Political leaders in the United States, including President Biden, have made it clear that Georgia is an important partner for the country, US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan told Georgian press on Thursday.

Derek Chollet, the Counselor of the United States Department of State, Wednesday said the US was doing “everything we can” to support Georgia, pointing out Washington was also working closely with the Georgian Government to find ways to support Ukraine in overcoming “enormous challenges.”

Derek Chollet, the Counselor of the United States Department of State, will visit Tbilisi on Wednesday and Thursday for consultations with Georgian partners about European security and democratic development, the State Department said on Monday.

The strategic Georgia-United States partnership and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration questions were discussed on Monday in a conversation between Ambassador of Georgia to the United States David Zalkaliani and the Counselor of the US Department of State Derek Chollet.

Derek Chollet, the Counselor of the United States Department of State, said on Wednesday he would discuss a “shared vision” of Georgia “fully integrated into the Euro-Atlantic family of nations” during his visit to Tbilisi, which started today.

The United States remains “steadfastly committed” to its strategic partnership with Georgia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said in a letter addressed to his Georgian counterpart Ilia Darchiashvili.

The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday Congratulated the people of Georgia on Independence Day and vowed support for the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The current situation in the Black Sea region and the challenges facing Georgia amid the Russian aggression against Ukraine were discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between the Georgian Ambassador to the United States David Zalkaliani and the Co-Chair of the Georgia Caucus of the US House of Representatives, Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

Congressman Adam Kinzinger, the Co-Chair of the Georgia Caucus of the United States House of Representatives, on Wednesday called Georgia an “important ally” and “bulwark” against Russia following a meeting with Georgia’s US Ambassador David Zalkaliani.

David Zalkaliani, Georgia’s Ambassador to the United States, on Friday hosted a closed-door discussion as part of the fourth annual US-Georgia Strategic Partnership Conference in Washington.

Karen Donfried, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, will visit Tbilisi on Friday to deliver a speech at the Tbilisi International Women's Conference organised by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, and meet Georgian officials, the State Department said on Sunday.

The 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Georgia and the United States was celebrated in a gala reception hosted by the Georgian Embassy in Washington DC on Friday.

The Embassy of the United States to Georgia on Tuesday said the United States would not “turn its back” on its partners in Georgia and Ukraine no matter how much their independence might “annoy” Russia.

The United States’ support for Georgia and strategic partnership between the two countries were discussed in a meeting involving Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Karen Donfried, the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, on Friday.

The United States Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan, who is attending an annual gathering of US ambassadors in Washington, on Friday vowed her country would support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic path.

Georgian Ambassador to the United States David Zalkaliani on Thursday hailed the legislation introduced by two US senators for increased military assistance for Black Sea countries including Georgia by saying the move marked “the first time” the Senate had asked a US administration to develop a strategy for the region.

The United States Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution calling for the Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate Russia as a “state sponsor of terrorism” for actions in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and Ukraine that have resulted “in the deaths of countless innocent men, women and children”.

Congressman Adam Kinzinger, the Co-Chair of the Georgia Caucus of the United States House of Representatives, on Sunday made a call for sending the high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) platforms to Georgia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Friday said the Georgian Government was particularly “proud” of the relations between Georgia and the United States.

The approval of the United States National Defence Authorisation Act, which includes provisions in support of Georgia, by the House of Representatives “clearly reflects” the “most important role” of the country in the foreign and security political agenda of the US and is adapted to “challenges that we are facing today", Nikoloz Khatiashvili, a foreign policy researcher of the Geocase analytical centre, said on Friday.

Ruling Georgian Dream party MP Mikheil Sarjveladze on Friday said he believed the “future development of Georgia is intertwined, organically connected with in-depth cooperation with the United States”, in comments to statements by a group of former ruling party MPs who have criticized the US Embassy and Ambassador Kelly Degnan over the recent weeks in allegations of the diplomatic office backing “radical domestic [political] forces”. 

My role as the Prime Minister is to strengthen the relations with our main strategic partners the United States and the European Union as much as possible, as it is Georgia’s main path, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Thursday.

Former United States President George W. Bush on Monday addressed participants in the international conference Glory to Ukraine in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi by saying the US would “never cease to call on Russia to end its occupation of 20 percent of Georgia’s territory and to respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

The United States on Thursday announced a major new military aid worth more than $2 billion for European countries threatened by Russia, including Ukraine and Georgia.

Bonnie Jenkins, the United States undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, will visit Tbilisi today, the state department said on Tuesday.

Cooperation between Georgia and the United States, including in the successful programmes for strengthening the capabilities of Georgia’s revenue service, was discussed on Friday in a meeting between the Georgian finance minister Lasha Khutsishvili and Bonnie Jenkins, the United States undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.

Juansher Burchuladze, the minister of defence of Georgia, on Friday discussed ongoing and planned reforms in his body, as well as the “30-year-old cooperation and partnership” with the United States in a Tbilisi meeting with Bonnie Jenkins, the US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, the defence ministry said. 

Three decades of diplomatic ties between Georgia and the United States will be celebrated on Tbilisi’s Rike Park riverside recreational area on Saturday.

Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili and Erin McKee, the assistant administrator of the United States Agency for International Development for Europe and Eurasia on Thursday discussed relations between Georgia and the US, with this year marking the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the countries.

Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian parliament’s vice speaker, on Monday said ensuring a “good relationship” between Georgia and its main strategic partner, the United States, was “especially important”.

The hilltop TV tower overlooking Georgia’s capital Tbilisi was on Tuesday illuminated in the colours of the flag of the United States to commemorate Independence Day celebrations.