PM highlights possibility of restarting Georgian-US relations within one year

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday highlighted the possibility of restarting the existing relations between the country and the US within one year. 

Kobakhidze made comments to journalists over the meeting with the visiting United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Congressman Mike Turner, which was also attended by the US Ambassador to the country Robin Dunnigan, saying during the next year, it was possible to entirely reboot the relations between Georgia and the US. 

Georgia is a small country, the US is a very big state with global influence. Georgia cannot change much in these relations, and everything is in the hands of our US partners, we are waiting for the responsive steps”, he noted, adding that at the meeting, no one from the US side had mentioned the controversial law on transparency of foreign influence adopted in May by the Government.

The PM named the reasons for the deterioration of the relations between the two countries and expressed concern about how the non-governmental organisations, funded from abroad, had aimed the resignation of the Government.

Many things have gone wrong over the last four years. I spoke with them [the US officials] frankly, what I meant and what the former US ambassador [Kelly Degnan] was doing, who attempted to hold by-elections in the country in 2021 and who was directly involved in the “failed revolutionary processes” taking place in June of 2022”, Kobakhidze pointed out.

The head of the Government also highlighted his Government’s expectations from the US side, emphasising the responsive steps from them. 

“If the approaches change qualitatively, in this case nothing stands in the way of restarting relations. The main thing is justice, fair attitude”, the PM said, adding the restarting of the relations was equally in the interests of Georgia and the US.