‘Completely false’ — US State Department on Georgian Dream’s claim that US dragged Georgia into war
US State Department response to Georgian Dream
The US State Department called “completely false” the statements by Georgian Dream parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili claiming that the US sought to drag Georgia into a war.
The Georgian independent outlet Formula asked the US State Department to comment on Papuashvili’s 21 November statement regarding former US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan. The State Department told Formula that these accusations are “completely false.”
Shalva Papuashvili claims that on 28 February 2022, just days after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Ambassador Kelly Degnan approached the Georgian cabinet asking them to intervene in the situation.
“In my office sat the ambassador of one country, who told me that we should now escalate relations with Russia and decide whether we are on the light side or the dark side. This was the ambassador of the United States of America, Ms. Degnan, who arrived in Georgia on 28 February 2022, when the Russian army was approaching Kyiv.
We expected her to take a supportive position, saying that Georgia should not act recklessly at this moment, that a large war had started, and that the US would handle the matter, <…> that Georgians did not need excessive escalation, otherwise Russia would notice, and it would be better for a strong strategic partner to take charge.
Instead, we heard that we had to choose the light or dark side, and complaints that we had not yet imposed sanctions. I heard this personally,” Papuashvili said on 21 November 2025.
US State Department response to Georgian Dream
