U.S. ambassador: “Georgian Dream sent a ‘threatening’ letter to the Trump administration”
U.S. Ambassador Robin Dunnigan on Ivanishvili
U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Robin Dunnigan told the Georgian service of Radio Liberty that the ruling Georgian Dream party handed her a letter intended for the administration of Donald Trump, which she described as “threatening, insulting, frivolous,” and said “it was received extremely negatively in Washington.”
Dunnigan also shared other details about the relationship between Georgia’s current leadership and the Trump administration, including when and why she sought a meeting with Bidzina Ivanishvili – the founder of Georgian Dream and the de facto ruler of Georgia – and how he refused to meet with her.
On June 5, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Robin Dunnigan announced that she is stepping down and leaving her post. In a statement published by the embassy, Dunnigan wrote that this was her personal decision and that the government did not request her recall.
Robin Dunnigan: “After Donald Trump’s election, I traveled to Washington to meet with senior officials in the new administration, to discuss our policy toward Georgia and to receive guidance on what the first message from the new administration to the Georgian government should be.
Upon returning from those meetings, I met with Georgia’s foreign minister and very clearly explained the steps Georgian Dream could take to bring U.S.-Georgia relations back on track.
Three days later – and I don’t usually comment on such things, but the prime minister himself mentioned it – Georgian Dream leadership handed me a letter for the Trump administration. A personal, non-public letter which, frankly, was full of threats, insults, and reckless statements. It was extremely poorly received in Washington. Extremely poorly.
That’s why it took us time to prepare a response. The administration was very surprised to see such a message from the leader of one country to the leader of another. While we were working on our reply, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze published an open letter to the Trump administration.
On May 13, Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze addressed U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in an open letter, expressing surprise that there had been no top-level communication between the governments of Georgia and the U.S. so far.
The letter also stated that it was “unclear” why U.S. sanctions remain in place against Georgian government officials who, according to the letter, “effectively suppressed a USAID-funded and planned attempt at revolution” and stood up to “violence from the Biden administration.”
According to Kobakhidze, recent political events in Georgia had created a sense among the public that Trump’s statements about defeating the ‘deep state’ were nothing more than a rebranding effort.
After that, I went to Kobakhidze and said: ‘I have a response from Secretary Rubio. He asked me to deliver it personally to Bidzina Ivanishvili.’
And Ivanishvili refused to meet with me.”
“I was told I had to deliver the letter from the Trump administration directly to Bidzina Ivanishvili, and he said, ‘No.’ They didn’t ask me to give it to the prime minister.
I think everyone in the world understands that it’s actually Bidzina Ivanishvili who runs the government.
The most absurd part is that the steps needed to restore U.S.-Georgia relations to a normal path are very simple.
One of the first steps would be to stop the anti-American rhetoric – just stop making statements about the U.S. that are so far from the truth. Specifically:
● The claim that we tried to open a second front in Georgia — false.
● That my predecessor supposedly tried to organize a revolution here — false.
● That our strategic partnership exists only on paper — false.
● That my government recalled me — also false.
And the list goes on,” said Robin Dunnigan.
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