Georgia is ready to rethink its relations with the US and expects reciprocal steps from the administration of President-elect Donald Trump. “Our goal is to restore relations with the US and resume the strategic partnership. On our side, there is absolute openness, readiness for this, and we hope that under the new American administration we will see effective reciprocal steps“, said Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
On November 30, the State Department announced that the US had terminated the strategic partnership with Georgia after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on November 28 that the ruling party “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia“ decided not to include the issue of accession negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. and refuse all budget subsidies from the community.
According to the head of government, the reasons for this are constant blackmail by the EU regarding the start of the accession dialogue, demands to repeal a number of laws adopted by the parliament, and calls for sanctions against the Georgian authorities. This decision by the authorities provoked mass protests in Georgia, which are still ongoing.
On December 27, the United States imposed sanctions against the founder and honorary chairman of Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili. Inclusion in the sanctions list means freezing Ivanishvili's assets in the United States and prohibiting American citizens and companies from doing business with him. As the US Treasury specified, the restrictions do not apply to companies in which Ivanishvili owns a stake, unless they are included in the list separately. The United States accuses Ivanishvili of allegedly “undermining Georgia's democratic and Euro-Atlantic future in the interests of the Russian Federation”.