“No meeting is scheduled between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and US President Donald Trump during the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to the United States,” Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili clarified in response to journalists’ questions.

“This is not a bilateral state visit; it is a visit to an international organisation. New York, after all, is not the capital of the United States. The purpose of the trip is to address the United Nations General Assembly and participate in meetings with UN institutions,” Papuashvili stated.

When asked to assess the current state of Georgia–US relations, Papuashvili stressed that Georgia stands ready to reset ties that were unilaterally damaged under the previous US administration.

“The Biden administration unilaterally dismantled these relations, alienating America’s finest partner in the region and terminating a strategic partnership with its most committed ally. We are fully prepared to start our partnership with a clean slate.

We view the potential dynamics of our future relationship with great optimism. Whenever the US administration is ready for the next step, we will be ready too. We are in no rush; we hold firm to our principles. Throughout this friendship, we have acted in good faith, whereas the previous US administration acted in bad faith. So, we shall wait.

Trump himself continues to demonstrate to the world how many mistakes Biden made across every domain, including relations with allies. For instance, Trump ended USAID funding and shut down other harmful projects. Georgia was one of the countries where vast sums were being spent to exert control over domestic politics and the economy. Trump scrapped these harmful funding streams, proving that our grievances were heard.

Our primary national goals remain the economic prosperity of our people and the reunification of our country. We welcome anyone who wishes to partner with us toward these objectives. We force ourselves on no one; we did not cling to Biden’s coattails when he unilaterally cancelled the strategic partnership. The US is a sovereign nation that makes sovereign choices, just as we make ours.

Anyone seeking true friendship knows Georgia is a faithful partner. When all of Europe shrank back in Afghanistan, while the Baltic states, who beat their chests today, deployed merely ten or twenty troops, we deployed 1,000 soldiers, and at times up to 1,500. Georgians have proven to be the most reliable and steadfast allies. If others require time or choose a different path, that remains their prerogative,” Papuashvili declared.