‘I have not met with Mr. Ivanishvili in quite some time,’ U.S. Ambassador on MP Kavelashvili’s claim

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan Thursday said, “I have not met with Mr. Ivanishvili in quite some time.”

Asked about MP Mikheil Kavelashvili’s claim of a meeting with the ruling Georgian Dream party founder and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, Kelly Degnan said, “I’m a diplomat, so I’m not going to take offense at that, but that is simply not true. And I have to say I wonder a little bit—I’m a little puzzled at why this MP would be making such a claim based on no information, since I don’t know him. And he certainly wasn’t in any of my meetings with Mr. Ivanishvili. So, I’m a little puzzled at his motive for even making this claim.”

“When I was asked about this on Tuesday, I had not read the comment, and I don’t like to comment until I understand the facts, unlike some who like to comment based on innuendo and speculation and rumours.

“But I can say now that I have not met with Mr. Ivanishvili in quite some time. In every meeting I’ve had with him over the past two and a half years that I have been in Georgia, I have always assured him of the United States’ full support for the people of Georgia and our willingness to work with the government of Georgia for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future for Georgia’s democratic and economic development. In none of those meetings have I ever tried to blackmail Mr. Ivanishvili,” she asserted.