Senator Shaheen After Meeting with Kobakhidze: "I Don't Understand the Willingness to Follow in Footsteps of Russia's Dictatorship"
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, September 16, 2024
At the beginning of August, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the top candidate on the Georgian Dream election list, did not meet with Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Congressman Michael Turner, who were on an official visit to Georgia. The American lawmakers were instead met by the country's Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze. However, in an exclusive interview with Voice of America, Senator Jeanne Shaheen expressed her disappointment with the meeting with Kobakhidze, as she did not see readiness from the Georgian government to continue the U.S.-Georgia partnership.
"After the meeting with the Prime Minister, I was very disappointed. The United States has been supporting Georgia's democratic aspirations for over 30 years. We've supported Georgia through [financial] assistance, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is also present in the country. During our visit to Georgia, one of the things we did was visit Gori, where we saw initiatives that support young people. We met very impressive young individuals. We also saw initiatives supporting entrepreneurs affected by Russia's occupation.
So, hearing from the Prime Minister that he wants to renew relations, but then seeing no willingness to take practical steps to make that happen [was disappointing]. One of the things we asked [during the meeting] was what needs to happen for relations to improve and to ensure that we continue the partnership we've had for these 30 years. In response, he expressed frustration with civil society and NGOs that are critical of the government. He told us that he thinks this needs to stop and that the United States should cease supporting NGOs. Congressman Turner was very direct with him, saying that we live in a democracy and that we hope Georgia is also a democracy. We're used to criticism; we're often criticized too, but that doesn't mean we should stop or fail to move forward in ways that benefit both sides.
But he [Irakli Kobakhidze] didn't have any positive initiative to ask of us or to inform us that they are truly interested in continuing the partnership we've had," stated Jeanne Shaheen.
In response to this statement, the senator was asked about Irakli Kobakhidze's claim that he had never asked Shaheen to stop funding the part of civil society that criticizes the government. Kobakhidze also said that they had not discussed the "foreign agents" law.
"I was not alone in that meeting; many other people were there who can confirm what he [the Prime Minister] said, including Congressman Turner. Once again, this is very unfortunate. I think he assumes that because he is the head of government, if he keeps lying, he will just tell more lies, and people will believe it. So, I think this is simply not trustworthy. You asked me about the 'foreign agents' law. During this visit, the Prime Minister and I did not discuss this law. When the law was first introduced, we opposed it, and during my time in Georgia, I made my position very clear that we were against it. I had the chance to speak with the Prime Minister before he became Prime Minister about our opposition to this law. There is a record of that. So [this time], we discussed other issues," the senator noted.
The conversation also touched on the upcoming elections scheduled for October 26 and the expectations regarding how fair and democratic they would be.
"I think this is a real cause for concern. We've heard from several observer groups that they are very worried about whether this election will be free and fair. This was an issue we raised with every government representative we met - the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the President.
The Prime Minister told us that they are committed to holding free and fair elections. I hope that will be the case. I understand that Georgia has a difficult geographic location, and I respect that. I also respect the challenges the country faces due to Russia's occupation of 20% of its land. But I do not understand the willingness to follow in the footsteps of Vladimir Putin and Russia's dictatorship.
This is not the position of the Georgian people. We have heard from the people of Georgia that they want to be part of the European Union and the West, and they see that as their future, not Russia. So, following dictatorship in Russia doesn't seem to be the future path for Georgia," the senator noted.
According to the senator, it is disappointing that there seems to be no interest in continuing U.S. assistance to Georgia.
"The assistance we've provided to Georgia has been very important in terms of continuing to protect human rights, improve democracy, better address issues in the country, and fight corruption. So, it is very disappointing that we don't see interest in continuing this in the future," the senator stated.
