Parliament Speaker says new U.S. administration knows full well what is needed for relations to be reset

“It is to be hoped that the appropriate steps will be taken by the United States, so that there may be a serious, equal-footed conversation about what interests our two peoples hold and how to ensure that the governments of both countries act in accordance with the interests of their own people,” said Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, speaking to journalists.

“America’s new administration has long been fully acquainted with our position, specifically, what needs to be done on the part of the United States for these relations to be reset and to acquire an altogether new and qualitatively different substance. We are not speaking of a return to what was, in essence, a strategic partnership that existed only on paper and which, in the case of the previous administration, regrettably amounted to interference in Georgia’s internal affairs and attempts to change the government by undemocratic means,” Papuashvili noted.

The Parliament Speaker added that when the Georgian side speaks of partnership, it does not mean restoration or a return to the past but rather the forging of a qualitatively new partnership, grounded in due regard for the national interests of both peoples.

“We are therefore entirely open and candid in this respect with any partner or potential partner, and that includes the United States of America. It is hoped that the appropriate steps will be taken by the United States, so that there may be a serious and equal-footed conversation about what our peoples’ interests are, and how to ensure that the governments of both countries act genuinely in the interests of their own people,” Papuashvili stated.