All-time high US-Georgia cooperation
During his official visit to the United States on September 16–27, the Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze pointed out that Georgia enjoys an all-time high cooperation with the United States and maximal support from the US Government and Legislature in implementing reforms and Georgia’s aspirations to become a North-Atlantic alliance member state.
Following Prime Minister Bakhtadze’s meeting with Secretary Pompeo, US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert pointedly stated, “The United States continues to support Georgia’s sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders, and the US looks forward to one day welcoming Georgia into NATO.”
The Prime Minister met with National Security Adviser to the U.S. President John Bolton, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Senators, think-tanks, international organizations and various business leaders. “We have a concrete vision about how to cement and strengthen bilateral relations with the US. That covers two dimensions. One is security cooperation, and the other is economic cooperation, in which we have launched a dialogue on free trade between Georgia and the US and heard words of strong support for this idea,” the Prime Minister concluded his visit.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze addressed the world in Georgian — ‘one of the most ancient languages of the world civilization’ from the UNGA tribune on September 27th and urged Russia to fulfill its obligations and withdraw its occupation forces from the Georgian territory.
Russian Occupation of Georgian regions is a regional threat
“I urge Russia: fulfill your assumed and signed international obligations and withdraw your occupation forces from Georgia’s territory!” Bakhtadze said stressing that Russian illegalities in Georgia create threats for the whole region.
Bakhtadze said that the situation in the occupied territories is a “humanitarian disaster at its worst.” “This reiterates that Russia’s main motivation was a military intervention to establish military bases in our territories, not to protect the rights or interests of the local population, as they publicly, officially declare. This true intention is witnessed firsthand on a daily basis by our citizens in the occupied territories,” Bakhtadze stated.
Bakhtadze said that in 2008, aggression against Georgia was perceived in the world as a problem in the relations between only two countries. The way things unfolded further, however, showed that the then world was unprepared to provide an adequate assessment and response to this aggression.
“My message today to the world was that there are no ethnic conflicts in Georgia. It is part of the aggressor’s propaganda. In Georgia, we have a political conflict with Russia, and the global community must be aware that this political conflict can be regulated with a political will in place. Our partner countries and we pursue peace, and I am convinced that our countries policy, which stands for the European and Euro-Atlantic choice, the development of Georgian economy, and the country’s transformation into the region’s center, will surely bring about the desired results for the Georgians, Abkhazians, Ossetians, and everyone for whom Georgia is a shared homeland,” the Prime Minister stated.
Bakhtadze said that Georgia is trying to achieve the “only peaceful resolution of conflict” through the Geneva International Discussions and other, local formats, as well as by help of the new peace initiatives of the government of Georgia. “But that can only be accomplished based on the respect for Georgia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and the principles of international law,” he said. According to the Head of Government, a peace initiative will enable Georgia to stop the ongoing depopulation in the occupied territories: “We have initiatives designed to stop this humanitarian disaster, to create a platform for dialogue, and to provide our citizens with access to educational and healthcare services and commercial activities, so that they may have a basic opportunity to feed their families. It is a very important initiative, and I am convinced that, with support from the global community, we will start implementing our peace initiative in real life.”
It is a great honor to address the General Assembly in my native tongue, Georgian, one of the most ancient languages of…gov.ge
Georgia is an organic part of Europe
Prime Minister noted that Georgia, with its values and contribution, has always been an organic part of Europe and has always been committed to international peace and security.
Suffice to say, the multiparty Georgian Parliament a century ago included five women of different religious and ethnic backgrounds, an achievement rarely found even among the established democracies of that time. Today’s Georgia is the heir and successor to the values planted a century ago.
He said that Georgia has upgraded much for protecting prisoners’ rights and the current government ensured the freedom and pluralism of media. “Civil society plays a definitive role in the process of democracy building,” he added.
The PM also spoke about the NATO-Georgia relations and said that the relations have become “very dynamic and comprehensive.”
Economic prospects for wider regional cooperation
Bakhtadze emphasized that the Georgian government has taken all steps to maximally use the country’s beneficial location because Georgia has connected Europe and Asia for centuries. The Georgian government has reclaimed Georgia’s historical role in the wider Silk Road region and even hosted the Silk Road Forum in Tbilisi. “Today, however, I would like to propose a new initiative and offer you to facilitate the Tbilisi Forum focusing on transforming the Black Sea Region and the Caucasus, currently areas of confrontation and challenges, into a space for peace, cooperation, and development,” Bakhtadze stated.
At the same time, we are developing digital economy poised to advance the country to a qualitatively new level,” he said.