Georgia offered Trump to restore traditional relations

On the eve of the Day of the Soviet Occupation, celebrated in Georgia on December 25, official Tbilisi announced that it was ready to start relations with the United States from scratch. True, so far Washington has seemingly forgotten about the existence of the Caucasian republic, but the leaders of the Georgian Dream hope that this will change soon.

“We understand that today the new US administration has a lot to do – settling internal problems, ending wars. Based on this, it is probably difficult to find the necessary time for Georgia, but I hope that at a certain stage the administration of President Trump will be seriously interested in Georgian-American relations and the resumption of strategic partnership,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.

In turn, Tbilisi Mayor and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party Kakha Kaladze said that Tbilisi is ready to start relations with Washington from scratch. In his opinion, this could happen before the end of 2025. “The US president has declared the defeat of the Deep State. And we want all this to be reflected in Georgia not only by statements, but also by concrete steps and actions. In order to start a reset of relations and everything, at least strategic relations, we would start from scratch,” he said.

At the same time, according to Kaladze, the Georgian Dream protects the national interests of Georgians and will not allow anyone to use their country for their own purposes. “Of course, these three years have been very difficult. Do you remember what statements were made – there were direct threats, blackmail, which are still ongoing… However, the authorities have always stood firm with the people, showed integrity, explained to the public the reality of the challenges the country faced, and what forces fought against statehood with the involvement of local agents. People understood everything, supported us, and together we were able to avoid a very big disaster for the country,” Kaladze stressed.

In practice, the desire for a reset was expressed in the fact that Georgia became the only co-sponsor of the US resolution on Ukraine presented at the UN General Assembly. As you know, the Americans refused to criticize Russia. “We believe that the support of the resolution initiated by the United States is very important. First of all, because the general trend towards the cessation of these hostilities needs support at all levels,” said Irakli Kadagishvili, a Georgian Dream MP.

Kobakhidze stressed that in the three years since the beginning of the Special Military Operation of the Russian Federation, Georgia has joined more than 600 documents, including various resolutions condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine and supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kiev.

“We support the U.S. government’s peace plan and hope that this plan will be crowned with success in the near future. It is important for us to join the solution of the issue aimed at peace, and not at the continuation of hostilities. We pay attention to everything… and we support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the Prime Minister said.

Political analyst Archil Sikharulidze told NG that last year the Georgian Dream made a bet on the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States and now hopes to benefit from this.

“It seems that the expectations are justified. Trump’s statements coincide with what the Georgian authorities have been saying so far. Therefore, the Georgian Dream is sending signals to Washington about its readiness to reset relations. If she gets Trump’s support, then for the next four years the ruling party will get rid of any pressure from the opposition and will be able to pursue any policy it wants,” Sikharulidze believes.

According to the expert, the problem with the reset of US-Georgian relations lies in the fact that at the same time Tbilisi is moving closer to China. “For example, it is not entirely clear how Georgian Dream is going to convince Trump, who sees China as the main threat, that handing over the port of Anaklia to Beijing would not be a blow to America’s strategic interests. Considering that Mike Pompeo criticized the deal during Trump’s first term, I believe that the reset of relations between Georgia and America will lead to the fading of love between Beijing and Tbilisi,” Sikharulidze said.

As for Russia, on the contrary, relations with it can improve. “Tbilisi hopes that the United States will stop demanding that it act as a border party in the conflict between Moscow and the West. This will make it possible to establish relations with Russia. In particular, Georgia itself will be able to come up with initiatives that will now be perceived as a hostile step to the West,” the expert believes.

In turn, Vadim Mukhanov, Head of the Caucasus Sector at IMEMO RAS, believes that Georgia, despite improving relations with the United States, will be able to maintain cooperation with both China and Russia. “Tbilisi will remain focused on Washington and Brussels, but at the same time will protect its economic relations with Moscow and Beijing. So far, the Georgian Dream has succeeded, and it probably won’t want to change anything,” Mukhanov told NG.