Georgian Ambassador Summoned to the U.S. State Department, PM Says “a Lie”

The Georgian Ambassador to the U.S., Tamar Taliashvili, was summoned to the U.S. State Department in protest of the statements made by Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the State Security Service, during a TV interview. According to the U.S Embassy Spokesperson, the Georgian Ambassador was summoned to “deliver our serious objections to statements by Georgian government officials amplifying false media reports mischaracterizing routine U.S. government financial transfers to former U.S. employees.”

During that interview, Mdinaradze said, ‘the embassy of one country in Thailand’ had “people in Georgia who are funded for anti-Chinese purposes,” but these funds, he alleged, were almost fully used to support “radicals against the government, for revolutionary purposes.” Identifying the source, he later said
“This is how American taxpayer money is being spent.”

The U.S. Embassy spokesperson said in a written statement, “We are deeply concerned that senior Georgian government officials irresponsibly amplified those false media reports, which generated a campaign of public harassment and intimidation based entirely on false information.”

The U.S. Embassy further said, “The State Department’s Global Financial Service Center in Bangkok plays a critical role in disbursing funds all over the world to support U.S. government operations. […] These transactions are routine, transparent, and conducted in full compliance with U.S. and host country laws and regulations.”

Kobakhidze says the summons is “a lie”

Responding to the journalist’s query, PM Kobakhidze stated that the information about Ambassador Taliashvili being summoned to the U.S. State Department “is a lie.”

“You know that the summons is a diplomatic procedure, a diplomatic measure. She was not summoned even once. She had many meetings, including with the State Department and the State Department representative. As for the communication, this information is classified, and we can’t speak about it.”

Kobakhidze added that “we are speaking with each other openly, tell each other what we like and what we don’t. We always have very sincere conversations.”

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