Georgia wants “real” strategic partnership with US, says Georgian Parliament Speaker

Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said the Georgian government was seeking to restart its strategic partnership with the United States “from a new level”, based on national interests, and “expects corresponding steps from the US administration”.

Papuashvili commented on the visit of Peter Andreoli, a representative of the US State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs to Georgia, noting that no meetings with Andreoli were scheduled in the legislative body.

He further discussed Georgian-American relations, stressing that Georgia aims to launch a new phase in its relationship with Washington.

“We want to relaunch our strategic partnership with the US from a new level - not a partnership that existed more on paper than in reality, but a genuine strategic partnership, the kind Georgians know and have demonstrated to the American people many times”, the speaker said.

“We maintain various contacts with the new US administration. They are well aware of our national interests and our position on strategic partnership, so we expect a reset”, he continued.

Papuashvili further added that there was little the country could do in this relationship to either improve or damage it.

“We have our positions, which are important based on national interests, and we expect appropriate steps from the US administration. Unfortunately, we do not see the pace we would like for resetting these relations - a pace that befits Georgian-American ties”, the speaker concluded.