"Georgia has said its word to US" Georgian political analyst’s opinion for Caliber.Az

US sanctions against Georgian judges are an unfriendly gesture. Everything happens when Georgia is making efforts to finally acquire the status of a candidate for EU membership. It is implementing reforms only according to the templates of the European Commission. Washington's decision caused a shock in Georgian society, and then a big scandal. Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze, even thought that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was involved in a corruption scheme, and therefore made such a decision that discriminated against Georgia. He noted that a document on sanctions against Georgian judges has been palmed off for the Secretary of State to sign.

“We all understand well that Mr. Blinken does not always think about Georgia, he has much more to do. When such important documents are brought to him, there may be corruption processes. Corruption is not always money. These people, who draw up such documents for the Secretary of State, have relations with the “party of war”, and these are not abstract thoughts,” Kobakhidze said.

Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in which he stressed that the decision of the US Department of State on sanctions without presenting any evidence is completely incomprehensible and unacceptable, and therefore he "hopes that the Department of State will provide relevant evidence or reconsider its decision."

Otherwise, the minister thinks that "the whole country and the Georgian people will perceive this as pressure on an independent court of a sovereign country and gross interference in its activity, which will damage the long-term friendly relations between Georgia and the US."

How does Georgia perceive Washington’s action? How will Tbilisi's foreign and domestic policy be built now, after such a blow from the West? Georgian political analyst Gia Gabrichidze answered Caliber.Az journalist’s questions.

The Georgian expert noted that the Georgian foreign minister sent a "strong and correct letter" to the US Secretary of State - an effective message of the Georgian government to the Americans.

Gabrichidze said that this is unlikely to change anything in Washington's decision, but Georgia has said its word.
He added that the Georgian opposition parties are excited, anticipating the introduction of new US sanctions against the Georgian establishment.

“I don't think we should expect any more US sanctions because the Georgian authorities make the right decisions. The opposition puts spokes in the wheels, but in general, in spite of everything, these forces are not supported by the Georgian people. I also do not expect the Georgian current political course to be changed. The country is involved in large-scale economic projects covering many countries. The course of real democratic transformation cannot be changed, we are gradually moving in this direction. The Georgian government has made it clear that it is not going to please someone. Big changes are expected to be made in the West, as a result of which, I hope, corrupt officials will be removed, and many people in Europe will reconsider their views, which have been shaped for many years under the influence of corruption in European institutions. However, this has nothing to do with the real values of Western democracy, which Georgia intends to adhere to in the future,” the Georgian political analyst said.
The expert said that these sanctions have raised many authentic questions in Georgia, some of which were raised in the US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan’s interview with the Georgian media. The diplomat was unable to clearly answer a single question in which the Georgian public is interested.

“She could not convince us that this step by the US Department of State was somehow justified. So, in particular, she could not give at least one proven example of the corrupt actions of those judges that are mentioned in the list of the US Department of State. Only general phrases and answers were made, some of which were completely ridiculous. I can stress that the Georgian opposition also played its role in the decision of the Department of State, which has its own lobbyists in the West and unfortunately, the US officials take their opinion into account. As a result, an inadequate, absolutely biased, and unfounded resolution on Georgian ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili was adopted,” Gabrichidze noted.

He noted that on the other hand, the Georgian government was at risk all year not entering into a direct conflict with Russia, despite Tbilisi’s active support for Ukraine’s position, as well as all resolutions against Russia and even the decision of the Hague International Court on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s issue.

“What can we say about democracy, if the US ambassador to Georgia herself actively supported and even financed various Georgian opposition NGOs criticizing the Georgian government and helped anti-Georgian lobbyists in the West? However, there is such a point of view that certain forces in the US, by imposing sanctions, decided to undermine the mechanism of the Georgian judicial reform, which was welcomed by the Venice Commission and international experts in this sphere. Such games occur in allegedly transparent Western politics,” Gabrichidze said.