"Georgia's regime aims to leave the country isolated with Russia and China," - Zourabichvili on her U.S. visit
Zourabichvili on her visit to the U.S.
Georgia’s 5th President Salome Zourabichvili summarized her Washington visit in an interview with the Georgian publication “Voice of America,” stating that “isolation is the chosen direction of the current Georgian regime and their kind of new dream.”
Zourabichvili believes that members of the ruling party, led by its founder, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, “are working to leave Georgia alone in the face of Russia.”
She shared that during her trip, she met with almost all members of the new U.S. cabinet. Her main message was a request for urgent attention to the current situation in Georgia.
Zourabichvili emphasized that her task now is to ask Western partners to ensure that the isolation faced by “Georgian Dream” representatives does not affect Georgia’s progressive pro-European society.
Her primary goal, according to Zourabichvili, is to prepare for new, fair parliamentary elections that will allow for a change of power in the country.
Key points from Salome Zourabichvili’s interview:
“My meetings with the members of the new U.S. cabinet were very brief, as they took place during various events. There wasn’t much time to present my messages in detail.
However, I had the opportunity to highlight how important the situation in Georgia is today, and how concerning it is for the region, which is vital for America. Georgia is located by the Black Sea, at the center of strategic new projects, and it has been a recipient of American aid for the past 30 years.
Georgia is the country that has received the most aid per capita from the U.S. after Israel, which is a significant amount. This happened because America had and still has strategic interests in Georgia.”
My message was about the urgent need to address the establishment of dictatorship and repression in Georgia.
It is also crucial to respond to the new geopolitical directions being created by this regime, which follows the Russian model. They are forming a strategic partnership with China, which should raise serious concerns for America.
What the “Georgian Dream” is dreaming of and striving for today is to isolate Georgia, leaving it security-wise face-to-face with Russia, and economically with China.
This is not what the people of Georgia dreamed of for the past 30 years after gaining independence. Therefore, my role as the legitimate representative of this state is to ask for help from our partners.
Isolation should affect the leaders who choose dictatorship, not the entire country or its society. The focus should be on Georgia’s political and economic future.
This is my main message to all our partners: help us today, so that tomorrow we can help our country even more.
Georgia has a strategic partnership agreement with the U.S. I am also pleased that Armenia recently signed a strategic partnership charter with the U.S.
This shows that the Caucasus remains a very important region for America, and the partnership with Georgia is the cornerstone of the region’s future.
As for future plans, I generally do not respond to such questions. There is one plan: to hold new, honest elections, which is the demand of all those participating in the protests. We are working on developing a system for these elections so that we will be ready in case the regime agrees to hold them.
And this will happen, as they will have no other choice. Otherwise, this regime will simply collapse.
On January 20, Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump at the invitation of Republican Congressman Joe Wilson.
On January 18, she was also invited to a pre-inauguration celebration hosted by the U.S. Republican Party. There, she met with members of Trump’s future cabinet, including Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegset.
After the meeting, Salome Zourabichvili told journalists that “our partners are ready to help Georgia conduct new parliamentary elections.”
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