MP Zarkua: Georgia ready to start relations with US from clean slate

“We are ready to start relations with the United States from a clean slate, while fully taking into account our national interests. We have good impulses for this,” said the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Diaspora Issues, Irakli Zarkua.

According to Zarkua, important messages were exchanged during the meetings, including a productive discussion with Andrew Baker.

“All the challenges that Georgia faces were discussed. We have good impulses to start relations from a new page, considering national interests,” he said.

He noted that previous attempts by certain local actors and the Biden administration had stalled Georgian-American relations.

“The process is developing dynamically, and both sides are ready to start from scratch,” Zarkua added.

Georgia’s parliamentary delegation is currently on a visit to Washington, DC. The delegation comprises members of the parliamentary majority: Nikoloz Samkharadze, Mariam Lashkhi, and Lika Shartava.

As part of the visit, Nikoloz Samkharadze met with Brendan Hanrahan at the U.S. Department of State, where, as Samkharadze stated, he confirmed Georgia’s readiness to begin work on a new strategic partnership agreement.

Samkharadze also held a meeting with Andrew Baker, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security Council. According to Samkharadze, the primary focus of the meeting was on repairing and strengthening Georgian-American relations, as well as restoring the strategic partnership between the two countries.