Trump has destroyed the Georgian dream

The US State Department said that Washington’s approach to Georgia has not changed since Donald Trump came to power. At the same time, the ministry recalled that the key theses for assessing the degree of development of democracies were previously voiced by Vice President Jay Dee Vance during a speech at the Munich Security Conference. Tbilisi insists that they are ready for any eventuality.

“We will continue to evaluate our approach to Georgia to advance American interests. The United States has clearly outlined the steps that the Georgian Government can take to demonstrate the seriousness of its intentions to improve relations with the United States. As for the ongoing anti-democratic actions taken by the Georgian Dream government, as Vice President Vance noted in Munich, a democratic mandate cannot be achieved by censoring or imprisoning opponents, nor by ignoring the views of the mainstream electorate on who should become part of our common society. The United States has been a partner of Georgia and the Georgian people for 33 years and has strongly supported Georgia’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity throughout that time,” the State Department said in a statement.

Earlier, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Robin Dunnigan met with the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy of the Caucasian Republic. They discussed what exactly Tbilisi can do to improve relations with Washington, as well as prospects for cooperation in the economy, energy and other fields.

Commenting on the State Department’s statement, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said his government was ready for any development. “As for our future relations with the United States, we will see, we are ready for everything. There are two scenarios. The first is that President Donald Trump wins the Deep State, and this is a good scenario for us. But if this does not happen, there is a risk that events regarding Georgia will develop in the same way as in the last four years. We are ready for both scenarios,” Kobakhidze said.

Georgian Dream Secretary General and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said he did not want to consider the US State Department’s report in detail. At the same time, he stressed that his party fully supports Trump’s fight against the so-called deep state.

“We have stated many times and now we confirm our readiness to resume relations with the United States and start them from scratch. What exists today is very bad, and we expect this situation to change,” Kaladze said.

At the same time, Tbilisi is signaling to Washington that it is not a “Russian puppet,” as the opponents of the “Georgian Dream” say. In particular, Georgia co-sponsored a resolution in the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in Ukraine, which called it “Russian aggression.” The resolution also emphasizes the commitment of the UN Council to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine. 24 countries voted in favor of the document, 18 abstained, and four more – China, Ethiopia, Burundi, and Sudan – opposed it.

Meanwhile, political scientist Nika Chitadze believes that the United States is primarily interested not in the struggle for power within Georgia, but in the republic’s ties with China. “For example, the government of the republic wants to transfer a strategic facility to Beijing – the port of Anaklia. In addition, Tbilisi cooperates with Iran and does not avoid ties with Hamas.… Human rights are also important to Americans, but the emphasis on this is made by supporters of the Democratic Party. As a result, Georgia will face new sanctions. First of all, they will be directed at members of the Georgian Dream, but everyone along the chain will suffer. We don’t see this yet, as Washington is more preoccupied with the problems of Ukraine and relations with the EU, but the time will come for Tbilisi,” Chitadze told NG.

Alexander Krylov, Chief Researcher at the Caucasus Sector of the IMEMO RAS Center for Post-Soviet Studies, believes that Georgia still has a chance to improve relations with the United States. However, this may soon lose its meaning.

“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was able to establish relations with the United States by taking advantage of the fact that Trump became president. Maybe Georgia’s problem is that there are still old cadres in the American embassy.… In general, it would be logical if the Georgian Dream, which supports traditional values, became closer to the new US authorities on this basis. At the same time, if Washington is serious about leaving Europe, it will certainly not be interested in the South Caucasus. Americans are more likely to entrust the business of this region to Europeans. And then everything will be bad for the Georgian Dream, as Brussels continues to conflict with Tbilisi,” Krylov explained.