The Daily Beat: 28 May
In a statement released on May 28, the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi reported that GD founder Bidzina Ivanishvili declined a meeting with Ambassador Robin Dunnigan, who sought to convey a message from the Trump administration regarding U.S.-Georgia relations.
A few hours later, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chair of the Georgian Dream party, confirmed the information released by the U.S. Embassy. Ivanishvili, in his in-response statement, attributed the refusal to meet with U.S. Ambassador Robin Dunnigan to “personal complexes” related to U.S.-imposed sanctions and claims of “blackmail.” You can read Ivanishvili’s full statement in our story.
On May 28, Vakhtang Gomelauri announced that he is stepping down as Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs and Vice Prime Minister. In a statement, Gomelauri did not provide a specific reason for his resignation, saying only that the decision “was not easy”. Gomelauri is currently under sanctions from several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.
Vakhtang Gomelauri was succeeded by Gela Geladze as the Interior Minister of the GD party. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze introduced Geladze during a briefing just two hours after Gomelauri’s resignation. Geladze is a lawyer with extensive experience, having worked for years in the ministries of Interior, Education, and Justice, as well as in the Prosecutor’s Office and the Probation Agency. Since April 2025, he has served as one of the deputies to the recently appointed Chief of the State Security Service.
The administration of GD-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili claims to have received a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump on the occasion of Georgia’s Independence Day. Subsequently, Kimberly Lowe, a member of the Republican Party, posted the English text of Trump’s letter, which she claims was sent to Kavelashvili. However, the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi has not confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the German ambassador of “exerting pressure” on the Georgian judiciary and violating the Vienna Convention by attending Mzia Amaghlobeli’s trial. “We do not expect an apology. Why? Because legal principles are upside down in Europe. All of this is tragic,” Kobakhidze told journalists. Kobakhidze also said that German authorities “don’t give a damn about legal principles: rule of law, a legal state, human rights, an independent judiciary…”
Journalists and editors from several media outlets are launching a new movement demanding the release of Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder of Batumelebi/Netgazeti. She has been in pre-trial detention since January and faces a prison sentence of four to seven years. Journalist Nino Zautashvili, who was recently dismissed from the Georgian Public Broadcaster, made the announcement during a joint broadcast aired on three opposition TV stations.