Georgian Parliament Speaker: Georgia ready for qualitatively new partnership with US

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said the Georgian Government was ready to launch a qualitatively new partnership with the United States, emphasising the need to reset relations following tensions in recent years.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Papuashvili noted that the Georgian Government had openly expressed its readiness to start relations “from a new page”, arguing that ties were damaged under the Biden administration.

“We have openly stated what our readiness is. It is to start relations from a new page, after they were damaged by the Biden administration. We are ready to begin a qualitatively new partnership”, he said.

The Speaker also reflected on the US-Georgia strategic partnership established after the 2008 war, describing it as largely symbolic and insufficiently implemented in practice.

“Even the strategic partnership at the time existed only on paper and was compensation for the 2008 war from the Obama administration a few months after the war. In reality, it remained on paper and was never truly implemented”, he noted.

He pointed to Georgia’s military contribution in Afghanistan as evidence of the country’s reliability as an ally, highlighting the role and recognition of Georgian soldiers serving alongside American forces.

“Our vision and proposal is to have a genuine partnership - one that Georgians understand and one we demonstrated to Americans in Afghanistan. I have seen people recall the heroism of our soldiers and say one thing: that among the forces standing on the front line - unlike others who remained in headquarters - one of the main contingents American soldiers most wanted to serve alongside were the Georgians”, Papuashvili concluded.