Kobakhidze writes to Trump, wonders why US hasn't responded to his offer to "restore strategic partnership"
Letter from Georgian PM Kobakhidze to Trump
Prime Minister of Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobakhidze, has written a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, urging them to respond to his “repeated proposals to reset the strategic partnership between the two countries.”
“Your silence is surprising to the Georgian people and the Georgian government,” Kobakhidze writes.
Kobakhidze expresses surprise that there has still been no high-level communication between the Georgian and U.S. governments.
The letter also states that it is “unclear” why U.S. sanctions remain in place against Georgian government officials who “effectively prevented a USAID-planned and financed attempt at revolution” and stood up to the Biden administration’s violence.
According to Kobakhidze, recent political developments have left Georgian society with the impression that Trump’s statements about defeating the “deep state” are nothing more than a rebranding effort.
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Kobakhidze’s message to Trump — full text:
“A few weeks ago, we wrote to you about U.S.-Georgian relations. That letter followed my public statements, in which I openly expressed Georgia’s readiness to restore the strategic partnership between Georgia and the United States from a clean slate, with a specific roadmap. However, we have yet to receive any response to our letter or our public statements. Moreover, there has been no high-level communication between the governments of Georgia and the United States.
This silence surprises the Georgian people and the Georgian government for several reasons.
First of all, for many years Georgia has been the most reliable partner of the United States in a region of great strategic importance. Georgia supported the U.S. in some of the most dangerous hotspots, including Iraq and Afghanistan, where Georgia had the highest troop contribution per capita.
Just through participation in those two missions, our small country saved the U.S. $2.5 billion — a sum that far exceeds the actual (!) aid provided to Georgia from the U.S. budget (this ‘actual aid’ excludes the funds allocated to rescue the regime of former President Mikheil Saakashvili in 2008–2011, after Saakashvili, under orders from the ‘deep state’, started a war with Russia).
The actual aid also does not include funds channeled through the U.S. embassy, USAID, NED, the Soros Foundation, and other channels used to fuel radicalism and hatred in Georgia, organize revolutions, discredit the Georgian Orthodox Church, promote religious extremism, undermine state institutions, and spread gender and LGBT propaganda, among other similar objectives.
Given that Georgia has long been a true strategic partner of the United States – and remains ready to renew that strategic partnership – the silence from the new administration is bewildering to both the Georgian government and the Georgian people.
According to international rankings, Georgia is the regional leader in democracy, rule of law, human rights, media freedom, judicial independence, strength of state institutions, low levels of corruption, and other key indicators.
This leadership is confirmed even by institutions that your administration holds in high regard. Given all this — and the fact that your administration actively engages in dialogue with several openly undemocratic and authoritarian states — your silence toward Georgia is illogical and inexplicable to us.
What’s particularly important is that when comparing the public rhetoric of our government and your administration, we see complete alignment in values and ideology. We openly spoke about the criminal activities of the “deep state,” USAID, NED, and other related structures years before you made similar statements.
Our views on the war in Ukraine, gender and LGBT propaganda, and many other issues are identical. Against the backdrop of this ideological alignment, the Georgian people expected that Georgia would be among the first countries to receive special attention from your administration.
You have shown such interest in Romania and Germany, where undemocratic actions were carried out with the support of the European bureaucracy. But to the surprise of the Georgian people — and ours — Georgia has received no such attention so far.
Moreover, there are still inexplicable sanctions in place against Georgia’s Deputy Prime Minister and other government officials who effectively thwarted a planned revolution and violence — a plot funded by USAID and orchestrated by the Biden administration.
Just days ago, the U.S. Congress passed the absurd “MEGOBARI Act,” which is hostile toward the Georgian people and their democratically elected government. Given that the word “megobari” means “friend” in Georgian, this law reminds us of George Orwell’s world, where war is peace and an enemy is a friend.
In recent times, we’ve grown accustomed to various parliaments adopting absurd acts, and we wouldn’t have paid much attention to the “MEGOBARI Act” — if not for the widespread belief that your administration is behind it. This perception is reinforced by the fact that your administration has not issued a single critical statement about the Act.
As a result, the MEGOBARI Act undermines not only the Georgian people’s trust in the U.S. Congress but also in your administration — an administration in which Georgian society had placed very different hopes.
Recent developments have led many in Georgian society to feel that [Trump’s] statements about defeating the “deep state” are nothing more than a rebranding effort — and nothing beyond that. People are surprised that, while you harshly criticize the decisions made by the Biden administration, you have yet to reverse any of them.
Nonetheless, our government continues to publicly express optimism and hope that your administration will, in fact, defeat the “deep state.” Such a victory would undoubtedly lead to a reset in Georgian-American relations and the restoration of our strategic partnership. If this does not happen, the scenario planned by the Biden administration will continue to unfold.
We remind you that up to 250 people trained and funded by USAID and NED are still gathering daily on Tbilisi’s main avenue — undeniable proof that the “deep state’s” plan to stage a revolution in Georgia has not been shelved.
As stated before, despite the many questions we have, we remain hopeful and optimistic that your fight against the “deep state” is sincere and will end in its defeat. The Georgian government is patiently waiting for that moment — a moment that should serve as the foundation for rebooting Georgian-American relations and restoring the strategic partnership between our countries.
We wish the United States of America strength and prosperity in this fight!”
News in Georgia
