U.S. Ambassador Robin Dunnigan Gives Her First Extensive Interview

On November 14, newly appointed Ambassador of the United States to Georgia, Robin Dunnigan gave her first interview since her appointment to the Georgian bureau of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . Among other issues, the US Ambassador spoke about Georgia’s NATO integration, sanctioned Otar Partskhaladze, the 2024 parliamentary elections, and Sino-Georgian relations.

NATO Integration

In response to the question about Georgia’s NATO integration the Ambassador highlighted the significance of the European Commission’s recommendations as “also an important step forward regarding Georgia’s NATO aspirations.”

She conveyed heartfelt congratulations to Georgia, its citizens, government, President, political leadership, and opposition parties, expressing optimism for a positive outcome in the mid-December vote.

Emphasizing unwavering U.S. backing for Georgia’s NATO aspirations, she underscored decades of collaborative efforts between the United States and the Georgian Defense Forces and Coast Guard to enhance Georgian forces’ interoperability with NATO. She noted that as a result of U.S. assistance they now have interoperability in terms of weapons, training and experience of joint operations.

On this topic, the Ambassador further added: “There’s also a political path.  NATO is a political and a military alliance, and I think the EU integration will help with the political steps that are needed.  I will continue to support these efforts while I’m here.  I’ve already been to Brussels and spoken to our Ambassador, Permanent Representative to NATO.  I’ve spoken with the NATO liaison office here and with our defense team at the Embassy.  We all help hope to continue to support Georgia on this path.”

The interviewer went on to ask what Georgia should do to ” turn NATO’s open door into a window of opportunity.” The Ambassador stated: “For making steps forward in all aspects of the Alliance, including the political aspects, we will need, NATO members will need to see Georgian government that is more and more Westward looking, integrated with the west, taking political steps that strengthen the democracy and again, that will require unity and […] it will be the sort of process that will go hand in hand with EU integration.”

Sino-Georgian Relations

Turning to the Sino-Georgian strategic partnership, the Ambassador stated that the United States respects Georgia’s sovereignty and its sovereign decisions to sign agreements with different countries. However, she emphasized the need for strong mechanisms to ensure that investment and trade decisions are transparent and that the long-term implications are understood.

“In terms of the strategic partnership, I’m just observing that in that agreement Georgia explicitly recognizes China’s sovereignty, but we don’t see that same commitment from China to Georgia. And this is a country that is getting increasingly closer to Russia, China is, and Russia is an occupier of parts of Georgia.  So, I’m just observing that that is a bit of a fraught situation” – she added.

She also addressed China’s interest in the Anaklia port project, stating that “who the government chooses to develop that port is ultimately a sovereign decision of the government”. She emphasized the role of the port as a key element in the development of the Middle Corridor, and urged Georgia to make sure it really knows who is investing in such a critical infrastructure and what their long-term intentions are.

Russian Occupation

While talking about the port of Anaklia, the Ambassador also touched on Russia’s intention to establish a permanent naval base off the coast of occupied Abkhazia, in the port of Ochamchire. She stated: “Again, this is an example of Putin blatantly disregarding Russia’s own commitments, and that if that’s true, that would be a violation of commitments under the 2008 Ceasefire Agreement, and I think another example of Putin and the Kremlin contributing to insecurity in this region.”

Continuing with the Russian occupation issue, the Ambassador was asked to comment on the recent killing of a Georgian citizen – Tamaz Ginturi – and the illegal arrest of another by the Russian occupation forces on November 6. The Ambassador offered her “deepest condolences” to the family and friends of the deceased and reiterated that the U.S. considers Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity “a top priority”.

“We call again on Russia, on President Putin to meet the commitments that they made under the 2008 ceasefire agreement that includes pulling back to pre-conflict positions, allowing humanitarian access, not further hardening and making more dangerous the Administrative [Boundary] Line… It will continue to be a priority of mine as Ambassador,” – stated Ambassador Dunnigan.

With the looming threat of Russia and the prospect of NATO membership still a long way off, the interviewer noted that it is important for Georgia to hear and follow the activities and discussions on Black Sea security that are taking place involving Georgia’s Western partners and the U.S. She mentioned the discussions in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the Black Sea Strategy and asked what Georgia could gain in terms of improving its defense and security capabilities within this framework.

Ambassador Dunnigan highlighted the Strategy’s focus on strengthening security coordination, economic and energy cooperation, and democratic discussions among Black Sea partners. Underscoring the region’s vulnerability in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she noted that the strategy aims to strengthen existing cooperation, deepen ties, and work closely with allies like Georgia to build resilience against future aggression.

“Why? Because we believe that will make the Black Sea more resilient and our Black Sea partners stronger in the face of future aggression” – she emphasized.

2024 Elections

Speaking about the upcoming 2024 elections, Ambassador Dunnigan noted that the elections themselves and the months leading up to them must be “a free, fair and transparent process,” in line with one of the EC’s recommendations. She stressed: “It is the most important thing in a democracy that a citizen’s voice be heard and that they know that their vote will be counted fairly and that they will be able to elect the government they want.”

She noted that the U.S. will be involved in the election process through assistance programs provided to the CEC. She also noted that work will be done with international partners during their short- and long-term election observation missions. “I’ve already spoken to our ambassador to the OSCE, and he told me, Michael Carpenter, that the OSCE is already focused on this, and the ODIHR is already focused on this. So I think the international partners, the European Council, the ODIHR and the OSCE, they’re already focused on working with the Georgians, the Georgian government, all the parties in Georgia to ensure that the elections are free and fair,” – she noted.

Sanctioned Former Prosecutor General

Asked about the sanctioned former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, Ambassador Dunnigan said: “When we do those sanctions, we not only do we expect countries to respect them, but in the case of those citizens are part of that country, that that is useful information for governments as they look at their own investigations of potential corruption or in the case of Partskhaladze, a potential very close interaction with the FSB.  And so, we encourage governments in all cases to use our sanctions as a kind of hint of where you could do some further investigation.”

Regarding the significance of Partskhaladze’s former high-ranking position, the interviewer inquired whether there were broader concerns directed at Georgian authorities. Dunnigan clarified: “That sanction was very specific to him. And I don’t want to say that it reflects on any other officials. It was specific to Otar Partskhaladze.”

Anti-U.S. Rhetoric

Commenting on Georgia’s Security Service investigation into a purported coup plot linked to USAID Ambassador Dunnigan dismissed the notion of USAID involvement in the alleged scenario as “ridiculous”. She refuted claims of any U.S. government agency engaging in subversive activities, stating that such assertions were baseless. Amb. Dunnigan reaffirmed that the initiatives led by USAID align with the policies supported by the U.S. President, Secretary of State, and USAID Administrator, irrespective of the ruling Government, as long as it was elected through a transparent and fair process.

In this context she noted: “There is no country that has been a greater supporter of Georgia and Georgia’s democratic development than the United States over the last 31 plus years.  We have given over $6 billion in assistance.  We have worked with health clinics, schools, teachers, doctors, the military, every segment of society to help this country become stronger, more economically prosperous, and I think really helped Georgia get to where it is today.”

Continuing on the topic of disinformation, she spoke about the “global party of war” conspiracy theory advanced by the ruling party officials. The Ambassador reiterated that these types of narratives are “ridiculous” and said that the US has been working in the format of the G7 precisely to maintain peace in the region, adding: “…you really have to question where the narrative comes from. And in my view, it comes from those that benefit from such a narrative, which is probably outside of Georgia, but then unfortunately it gets amplified here. And who benefits? Certainly not Georgians because that is not what the U.S. is trying to do.”

Finally, Ambassador Dunnigan was asked if a meeting with Bidzina Ivanishvili was planned. She noted that she  meet a broad spectrum of Georgians: official meetings with the Government, government officials, but also with party leaders, civil society organizations, and small and medium businesses in Georgia, and farmers adding: “I don’t have any new meetings to preview with anybody.”

Also Read:

• 17/10/2023 – UPDATE: Newly Appointed U.S. Ambassador Meets Prime Minister, Parliament Speaker
• 12/10/2023 – Newly Appointed U.S. Ambassador Presents Credentials to President, Meets Foreign Minister
• 31/03/2023 – US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Holds Hearing for Ambassador Nominee to Georgia, Robin Dunnigan

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