On the backdrop of personal blackmail, I consider it inappropriate to meet with US Ambassador and discuss state affairs - Bidzina Ivanishvili responds to US Embassy statement

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and Honorary Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday responded to a statement released by the United States Embassy, which said that “Bidzina Ivanishvili has refused to meet with Ambassador Dunnigan to hear a message from the Trump Administration”.

“Today, a statement was released by the US Embassy in Georgia regarding my refusal on May 22 to meet with the American Ambassador, where I was supposed to hear a message from the 'Trump administration'. This statement is incomprehensible to me, as the Embassy is very well aware of all the details related to this issue.

I confirm that a few days ago, the Embassy did communicate with the Prime Minister of Georgia and other government officials regarding a meeting. The American Ambassador informed the Prime Minister of Georgia that she wished to meet with me and 'convey Secretary Rubio's message', for which I expressed deep respect; however, I declined the meeting.

I have publicly explained the reason for my refusal to meet with the American side before, and it remains unchanged. I recall that under conditions of personal blackmail, last year I also refused to meet with Mr. O'Brien when only informal sanctions were in effect against me. I had received meeting offers several times before that and refused for the same reason, which I had repeatedly explained in writing to the previous administration.

Since the time of the previous administration, the American side has imposed first informal and then formal sanctions against me. [Informal sanctions against me are very aggressively enforced. For example, the Swiss bank Julius Baer brazenly refuses to return funds I won through court, which are not subject to any formal sanctions, and American lawyers are also involved in this].

On the backdrop of personal blackmail, I consider it inappropriate to meet with the Ambassador and discuss state affairs. In such a situation, I would inevitably feel that decisions regarding national matters are being weighed against my personal interests, which is fundamentally unacceptable to me. This sense of complex would remain with me even if I felt the agreement could be mutually beneficial. Moreover, this complex would exist not just within myself, but also in relation to my team and to the public.

I want to emphasise that I have never placed my personal interests above state interests, neither in 2012 nor ten years later - in 2022, when, precisely for the benefit of state interests, I put my personal interests at great risk.

I also recall that when the informal sanctions were temporarily suspended for a short period last autumn, and certain funds were unfrozen, I myself offered to meet with the American Ambassador. She initially agreed but then postponed the meeting several times and finally refused it altogether.

I am so interested in rebooting Georgian-American relations that I even informed the American side that I was ready to spend the blocked funds not for personal purposes, but for any purpose dictated by them, because money has never been my interest, neither before nor now. I clearly explained that the blocked funds create a complex for me on the one hand, and on the other hand, a feeling of not making any decision under blackmail. However, I received no response to this. Consequently, it became clear to me that the Biden administration was not interested in my money, but only in blackmailing me with these funds.

I also want to clarify that along with the refusal, we offered the Ambassador a meeting with the Prime Minister of Georgia. The Prime Minister is not under formal or informal sanctions and, accordingly, cannot have any complex related to personal blackmail. However, the Ambassador refused this, which strengthens our belief that they consider personal blackmail to be the leading factor when the Georgian side makes potential decisions related to state interests.

They may say that as the founder and Honorary Chair of the ruling party, I have a special influence on decision-making. However, in this regard, I want to assure you that no fundamental decision in the ruling party is made without the involvement of the team, and especially the Prime Minister. Therefore, the demand for a meeting only with me has only one explanation: such a meeting is only valuable in the context of personal blackmail.

I hope the US Embassy will respond positively to the Georgian Government's proposal to renew the US-Georgia strategic partnership from a clean slate, with a specific roadmap. Every leader of the Georgian Government has expressed full readiness to actively participate in the process of rebooting US-Georgia relations - if there is genuine interest from the American side”, the statement said.