Parliament Speaker: Full restoration of U.S.-Georgia strategic partnership needed

“We expect the full restoration of our strategic partnership with the United States, beyond just working meetings and contacts. The damage to relations is not our fault; it is the responsibility of the previous administration that the United States damaged relations with the Georgian people and with Georgia, a country which followed NATO and the United States under the most difficult conditions to defend global security,” the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, has stated.

He emphasised the importance of reaffirming the commitment to restoring the strategic partnership.

“Georgia ranks first in terms of soldiers killed per capita in Afghanistan compared to all other countries, both NATO member and non-member states. We are also fourth amongst NATO member countries in terms of the contingent we have deployed to Afghanistan. This is Georgian friendship and partnership that we demonstrate to the United States.

Unfortunately, the Biden administration did not appreciate this and, on the contrary, instead of seeing the United States standing by our side, we saw attempts to undermine Georgian democracy. I believe this is yet another crime of the Biden administration, which the Trump administration needs to correct. We hope for this correction, and we are prepared, having emphasised our readiness multiple times.

Currently, we are in a holding pattern. Amid ongoing geopolitical shifts worldwide, our main priority is to maintain security and peace within the country. At the same time, it is crucial to reaffirm our commitment and preparedness to restore the strategic partnership,” stated Shalva Papuashvili.