Georgian Parliament official says Georgia-US relations being rebuilt “from scratch”

Levan Makhashvili, the chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European integration committee, on Monday said that Georgia and the United States have been rebuilding their bilateral relationship from the ground up for the past year and a half.

In response to a journalist's question regarding reports of an American delegation planning to visit Georgia in April to conduct an in-depth study of ongoing processes in the country, Makhashvili emphasised that to understand the current situation, one must look at the starting point of this new diplomatic phase.

“To realise what process we are dealing with - and so we aren't surprised by visits in April, May, or any other time - we simply have to look at where we are coming from. We began building relations from scratch about a year and a half ago, after Trump became president. Since then, we have effectively been rebuilding relations from zero”, the official said.

He further added that the public has repeatedly seen different stages of engagement, including meetings at the level of top leaders, a “very successful” visit by Georgian parliamentarians to Washington, a visit by the head of the state security service to Washington, and most recently a phone call between the US secretary of state and the prime minister of Georgia.

“This means the working process continues. It is very successful and productive. In the future it may take the form of a phone call, a visit, or a meeting - that is not important. What matters is that the dynamic is positive and gives us hope that further steps will also be productive”, he continued.

“We have declared full readiness. There are many opportunities in this region, including economic ones, particularly in connection with the Middle Corridor. We welcome the involvement of major international partners in this process. However, in this case everything depends on the American side. If the United States decides to substantially reset the relationship, we are ready for this process”, Makhashvili concluded.