Tbilisi seeks "clean slate" with Washington, but hears only silence Kobakhidze addresses Trump, Vance

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has publicly expressed bewilderment over what he described as Washington’s silence regarding a potential reset in US-Georgia relations.

In an open letter addressed to US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, Kobakhidze questioned the lack of high-level communication between the two governments, Caliber.Az reports, referencing Russian media.

The letter, which Kobakhidze posted on Facebook on May 13, comes weeks after he had previously written to the US leadership proposing a renewed strategic partnership “from a clean slate with a concrete roadmap.” Despite his outreach and accompanying public statements, Kobakhidze said, there has been no response from Washington.

“This silence is surprising for the Georgian people and government for several reasons,” Kobakhidze wrote.

He emphasised that Georgia had supported the US militarily in Iraq and Afghanistan, contributing the largest number of troops per capita. According to the prime minister, this support saved the US an estimated $2.5 billion — a figure that, he noted, “far exceeds the actual aid Georgia has received from the US budget.”

Kobakhidze also underscored Georgia’s leadership in the region in the areas of democracy and human rights, while pointing out that the new US administration is “engaged in active dialogue even with openly undemocratic and authoritarian regimes.”

He went on to cite several reasons for confusion over the American administration’s silence, including the shared rhetoric between the two countries regarding the so-called “deep state,” concerns over the activities of US agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), as well as their similar stances on the war in Ukraine and LGBT-related propaganda.

By Tamilla Hasanova