Parliament Speaker criticises US Embassy for posting vague message on Georgian Dream party instead of publishing Trump’s letter

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said that instead of publishing Trump’s congratulatory letter to his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Kavelashvili, the United States Embassy posted some vague message the day after the letter was sent, which was dedicated to the Georgian Dream party.

Papuashvili’s comments came after the United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday extended congratulations to Kavelashvili and the Georgian people on the occasion of the country’s 107th Independence Day, reaffirming Washington’s commitment to strengthening bilateral ties.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that President Trump's congratulatory message to President Kavelashvili was commendable, as were the important content and messages contained in that congratulation.

“He emphasized two main points - first, the recognition and emphasis on the importance of intensive cooperation between the Governments of Georgia and the United States, and second, the emphasis on the significance of economic cooperation”, Papuashvili said.

“This is exactly what we were talking about earlier – the strategic partnership that existed had not been fully realized. From a strategic partnership, and as the new US administration openly states in relation to all countries, we expected it would promote the strengthening of economic relations, attracting investments, free trade, including the negotiation of favorable tariff conditions. What we were saying is exactly what President Trump declared as his main foreign-economic priorities”, he continued.

Parliament Speaker also claimed that It was somewhat surprising that the embassy still hadn't published the letter.

“Especially since this goes against its usual practice. For example, they recently offered and distributed a Georgian transcript of the Secretary of State’s speech in Congress. It’s a bit strange that the embassy, which is supposed to represent the president, has not posted the president’s letter on its page, and this probably needs to be explained as well”, Papuashvili concluded.