Kobakhidze Describes Current US-Georgia Relations as “Active-Negative”

Georgian Dream Prime Minister and party chair Irakli Kobakhidze described the current U.S.-Georgia relationship as “active-negative,” saying it cannot be “neutral” due to the already-imposed and forthcoming sanctions on GD officials.

“The silence of the new U.S. administration is not actual silence, You can only describe the situation as “silent”, if the relations are neutral, however, our relations are not neutral,” said Kobakhidze on air from Imedi TV on May 14. The comment comes a day after his open letter to Donald Trump and JD Vance written in a frustrated tone and seeking the U.S. administration to break its “silence” toward the Georgian Dream.

He added, “The Biden administration has sanctioned, for example, our Vice Prime Minister and Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, along with other senior officials from our law enforcement agencies.”

Kobakhidze said: “We must also take note of the MEGOBARI Act and other measures. This is not a state of neutral silence, it is not a passive status. Our relationships have a sort of active-negative status.”

Kobakhidze reiterated that the ruling government is in “waiting mode” to see what Trump, with whom it claims to share values, will say. The Georgian Dream says it wants to reset relations between the two countries, which, in its view, will depend entirely on the outcome of the “struggle” between Trump and the “deep state.”

“We remain hopeful that there will be a reaction, but let’s see. All of this depends on who wins the battle between the Trump administration and the ‘deep state.’ There is an actual battle going on,” Kobakhidze said, adding, “Let’s keep hope that President Trump will win, but we are ready for all scenarios. We will defend our national interests to the end.”

GD’s bets on Trump appear to be waning as the MEGOBARI Act – which envisages broader sanctions on GD officials and their family members – nears Trump’s desk. On May 6, the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives with considerable support and was placed in the Senate’s legislative calendar the next day. If it passes the Senate, Trump’s signature will make it law.

“We’ve got to be optimistic. We hope that relations will reset and that the ‘deep state’ will lose or at least be weakened in its battle with Trump,” said Kobakhidze.

Addressing the MEGOBARI Act, Kobakhidze also lashed out at its co-sponsor, Rep. Joe Wilson, a staunch critic of Georgian Dream, calling him a “tiny agent” of the “deep state.” He said, “They have singled out this man and made him write such [critical] things. If you asked him where Georgia is, he might not even be able to pinpoint it on the map, but sometimes he writes five or six [social media] posts about Georgia.”

“When you write that there is a pro-Iranian government in Georgia, there must be something that this [claim] is based on,” he added.

“It’s completely absurd. I won’t even mention the claims about Russia and China! Doesn’t this discredit everything related to the United States and Europe?!” Irakli Kobakhidze said, adding, “Even the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union did not dare to say what we hear from certain officials in America and Europe.”

“What do they want from our small country?” he complained. “The idea that they’re concerned about the state of democracy in our country is funny,” he added, claiming Georgia’s leadership in governance-related rankings in Europe and worldwide.

Kobakhidze further predictably leaned into the familiar “second front” narrative, reiterating claims of attempts to drag Georgia into the war in Ukraine.

He lashed out at USAID and the NED, portraying them as tools of foreign influence, which he claimed have been “inciting hatred in Georgian society” and compared their methods to those of the KGB in the 90s.

“I remember the early 90s, when a deep hatred was sown in Georgian society directly by the KGB,” he said, adding, “The KGB worked at the time to make Georgians hate each other… I can say directly that since the 90s, no one has sown more hatred in Georgia than what has been spread through USAID, the NED, and other funds.” Kobakhidze also alleged that USAID and NED were funding efforts to incite hatred against the Orthodox Church.

Returning to the topic of U.S.-Georgia relations, Kobakhidze was asked what it would mean if the U.S. did not respond. “This will indicate that the ‘deep state’ is not losing and is not weakening against the Trump administration. In that case, we will face more challenges in U.S.-Georgia relations,” he said, adding, “But I will reiterate: for four years, we have defended our national interests in far more difficult conditions, and we were ready for an even worse scenario, which would be the victory of Trump’s opponent [Kamala Harris]. That would effectively mean the ‘deep state’ would remain in power. There, too, we would defend national interests.”

Kobakhidze stated that the state of the bilateral relations doesn’t depend on the GD government. In an attempt to shift away all responsibility from the Georgian Dream rule, he said: “It’s simple: if Trump weakens the ‘deep state,’ U.S.-Georgia relations will reset. If he cannot, the status quo will remain,” which in his words is “the one-sided friendship.”

Additionally, during the interview, Kobakhidze also took aim at Europe, claiming that European countries are losing their national identities, while praising the Georgian Dream for preserving Georgia’s. He also brought up Ukraine, accusing the West of “sacrificing” it in the war with Russia, and called on Western powers to “take care” of Georgia instead of “inciting artificial hatred” with measures like sanctions. When asked about his upcoming visit to the 6th European Political Community Summit in Albania, Kobakhidze said he would urge European leaders to take a “fair attitude” toward Georgia and its people. He also commented on the upcoming local elections in Georgia, which the major opposition parties have thus far pledged to boycott. He said, mockingly, that all opposition parties will ultimately “stand in line” to participate in the polls, though he noted that the GD will win in all municipalities regardless.

Also Read:

• 14/05/2025 – Papuashvili Chronicles “Five Revolution Attempts” in Annual Report to GD Parliament
• 14/03/2025 – Georgian Dream Strongmen Double Down on Deep State Conspiracy Narrative
  

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