Georgian PM says silence on his open letter to Trump is ‘important answer’

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said the lack of response to his open letter addressed to US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance carried “its own significance”, describing the silence as an “important answer.”

“The letter has not been answered, although silence is also a very important answer for us,” Kobakhidze told reporters. 

The PM’s letter, published several days ago, criticised the Joe Biden administration’s decision to impose sanctions on members of the Georgian government and called on Republican leaders to take corrective action. In it, Kobakhidze also asserted that his government’s values were “fully aligned” with those of the Trump administration.

Kobakhidze also addressed the MEGOBARI Act - a bill introduced in the US Congress aiming to impose further sanctions on Georgian officials for “undermining democracy” - as “a hostile act against the Georgian people.”

“Of course, this is a very crude intervention and I think it is absolutely counterproductive,” he said. “Everyone should respect the choice of the Georgian people, the sovereignty of Georgia, the independence of Georgia.”

In his remarks, the PM again referenced the influence of a so-called “deep state” in Washington and expressed hope that its influence could be diminished to restore a strategic partnership between the two nations.