Tbilisi Scrambles to Downplay Secretary Rubio’s “Anti-American Government” Remarks

Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili reacted to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s referring to Tbilisi as an “anti-American government,” saying one should look at the “full context.” She argued the sole conclusion one can draw is that America still has no “definitive position” on Georgia.

House Hearing

During the May 21 hearing at the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Joe Wilson accused Georgian Dream of rigging the October 26 elections and “criminalizing association with America,” claiming that GD “kicked out American companies, blocking trade and mineral access to the Middle Corridor, and sold Georgia to the Chinese Communist Party” and “repeatedly smearing President Trump and American leadership.” While praising the anti-regime protesters in Georgia, he asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio what the State Department would do “to impose real costs on the anti-American Georgian Dream on behalf of the people of Georgia.”

Secretary Rubio responded, “The goal of the United States is our national interest. So we will look at that and say: is it in our national interest to have an anti-American government governing an important part of the world? And if not, we’ll take appropriate actions to impose costs on that government,” he said, adding that while relations are “currently under review,” “we’re going to look to our regional bureaus and our local office on the ground there to provide us guidance as to what are the measures that the government, the anti-American government, would be most responsive to.”

GD Official Reaction

The GD’s FM Botchorishvili soon appeared on pro-government Rustavi 2’s night show, emphasizing Rep. Joe Wilson’s question is “built on a disinformation narrative.”

“The question asked by Joe Wilson, whom we know well, was built entirely on a disinformation narrative. Everything he said about Georgia was disinformative. It totally misses reality, and none of his positions reflect it. Therefore, first of all, we should assess the context in which Georgia was mentioned at today’s congressional hearing,” Botchorishvili said, claiming that Joe Wilson’s statement about rigged elections in Georgia and his description of the Georgian Dream government as “anti-American” was false.

“And against this background, when we assess Rubio’s response, we must look at the full context — what was discussed and what was emphasized. The only conclusion we can draw from [Rubio’s] response today is that a definitive position regarding Georgia does not [yet] exist in the context of America’s national interests.”

Botchorishvili dismissed the prospect of the Georgian Dream being assessed as an “anti-American government,” stating, ‘We have enjoyed very good systemic cooperation with the United States of America, and there is no reason to question that cooperation.’

“We still remain, let’s say, in waiting mode. [Rubio’s] response today confirmed what we have believed all along—that as of now, there is no definitive position on Georgia in the new U.S. administration,” Botchorishvili insisted.

MEGOBARI Act

Georgian Dream’s foreign minister also commented on the MEGOBARI Act, which proposes broader sanctions on GD officials and their family members, expressing hope that the U.S. State Department will dismiss the act when reviewing its policy toward Georgia. “There are statements in this act that are not true, and it would be very regrettable if those disinformative narratives formed the basis of the State Department’s policy toward Georgia. This is very doubtful, and I hope it will not happen,” Botchorishvili said.

Party Line

Other Georgian Dream representatives echoed Botchorishvili’s sentiments.

Archil Gorduladze, the chair of the legal issues committee in the one-party parliament, rejected the labeling of Georgian Dream as an “anti-American government” and instead described it as “pro-Western.” “Our government is willing to have equal relations with partner countries and organizations,” he said. Gorduladze also said that Rep. Wilson’s question was framed in a “provocative” manner, “permeated with hostility and hatred toward Georgia.”

While calling Rubio’s response “blurry,” Georgian Dream MP Levan Machavariani voiced the ruling government’s plea for “more clarity” from the Trump administration and responded to Irakli Kobakhidze’s open letter urging an end to “silence.” He reiterated Georgian Dream’s claim of “shared values” with the Trump administration. “We have full convergence in values, worldview, and political messages… Therefore, we do not see any obstacle to our real partnership,” he said.

Georgian Dream awaits its favored response from Trump as the ruling government, amid ongoing protests since November and its repressive response, finds itself in unprecedented international isolation. On November 30, two days after Georgian Dream aborted Georgia’s EU path, the United States suspended its strategic partnership with the country.

Georgian Dream seeks to reset relations between the two countries. GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze frames the ongoing uncertainty as a battle between Donald Trump and the “deep state,” suggesting that if Trump triumphs, relations will be reset for the better. If not, and the “deep state” prevails, Kobakhidze says the ruling party will still defend Georgia’s national interests.

Also Read:

• 15/05/2025 – Kobakhidze Describes Current US-Georgia Relations as “Active-Negative”
• 14/05/2025 – GD Parliament: MEGOBARI Act “Extremely Hostile” and “Factually Flawed”
• 25/04/2025 – Davitashvili Stresses “Positive Agenda” in Relations with New US Administration
• 14/03/2025 – GD’s Foreign Minister Meets with US Ambassador Dunnigan

This post is also available in: ქართული Русский