“Approaches must be clearly defined and firmly rooted in the principle of fairness; if anything was damaged in Georgian-American relations over the past years, it was damaged entirely by the previous administration, one hundred per cent. We are prepared to discuss every detail relating to the restoration of the strategic partnership,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists.

As he further stated, what was broken through injustice can only be repaired through a just approach.

“One thing I can tell you is that whatever the Secretary of State may say about Georgia is of absolutely no consequence to this opposition; so thoroughly discredited, so thoroughly weakened has it become. That is today’s reality. As for our own attitude towards the Secretary of State and towards the American administration, our position is clear: we want to renew the strategic partnership. With that in mind, we view all signals with optimism, including those we heard directly during the visit to Georgia. All of this gives us reason to remain optimistic that the renewal of the strategic partnership between Georgia and the United States will prove possible. The rest depends on further negotiations.

Approaches should be clearly defined and firmly rooted in the principle of fairness. If anything was damaged in Georgian-American relations over the past years, it was damaged entirely by the previous administration, one hundred per cent. We are prepared to discuss every detail relating to the restoration of the strategic partnership. Georgia is not a schoolchild to be kept back after class and told to do better. Georgia is a dignified, sovereign state, and we have made that unequivocally clear at every turn. It was precisely that dignity that Georgia was defending when the most grievous demands were being made of us directly, and it was based on that dignity that we managed to avert the most serious risks to our country.

The previous administration demanded the most grievous things of us, and what followed was pressure, coercion, blackmail, and a thousand misfortunes visited upon the Georgian people and the Georgian state. What was broken through injustice can only be repaired through a just approach,” the Prime Minister stated.