US Deputy Secretary of State Urges Georgia to Align with European Aspirations
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, July 15, 2024
US Deputy Secretary of State Uzra Zeya has called on the Georgian government to align its actions with the public's aspirations for a European future. The statement was made on social media following Zeya's meeting with the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze.
Zeya emphasized the US's serious concerns about recent anti-democratic actions taken by the Georgian government, including the controversial Foreign Agents law and related rhetoric, which are perceived to undermine Georgia's path to the EU and its relations with the United States. "We call on the government of Georgia to correct the course and fulfill public aspirations regarding Georgia's European future," Zeya wrote on X.
Prime Minister Kobakhidze in his assessment of the meeting, expressed that he did not receive any specific points from Zeya regarding the alleged anti-democratic changes in Georgia. He noted that their discussion was friendly and covered all issues, but he found the criticism of the Foreign Agents law to be general and lacking specific arguments. Kobakhidze requested detailed comments on this law for future reference.
"We had a very interesting friendly meeting yesterday. We discussed all the issues. I did not hear a single specific point regarding what anti-democratic changes were implemented in Georgia during the recent period. I had questions about the 'Transparency Law'. Here, too, there was a general assessment, without any argumentation, without any specifics. I asked her to provide specific comments regarding this law in the future, otherwise, we will have difficulty, of course, to respond to general comments," Kobakhidze said.
The Prime Minister reiterated Georgia's desire to deepen its relations with the United States and expressed openness to constructive dialogue. He conveyed to Zeya that Georgia is awaiting corresponding steps from the US to improve relations.
"We wish to deepen relations with the United States of America as much as possible, which we have repeatedly stated. There is absolute openness from our side. The main thing is that we see the next steps and we are still on standby, waiting for the next steps. I shared this message with her personally when we had a meeting. We hope that gradually everything will improve, and relations will become healthy. We are sure that sometime from the beginning of next year, the development of relations between Georgia and the United States of America will change qualitatively," Kobakhidze concluded.
