TBILISI, August 3 – Georgia says it is ready to continue political dialogue with the United States and wants to rebuild the countries’ strategic partnership “from a clean sheet,” Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili said.
Her comments followed criticism from the US Embassy over Georgia’s creation of a unit to combat hate speech.
According to Rezonansi, Western partners and rights groups have raised concerns that a vaguely defined hate-speech mandate could be used to restrict free expression or censor government critics. Members of Georgia’s ruling team have rejected that criticism as political interference or a double standard, arguing that action against hate speech forms part of international and European practice.
Speaking two days after the controversy, Botchorishvili said recent months had brought positive signs in the relationship between Tbilisi and Washington.
“Over the past months, there have been positive signs toward improving our relations,” she said, adding that Georgia wanted a healthy relationship based on mutual respect.
Botchorishvili said both sides agreed that any renewed strategic partnership should contain concrete substance rather than remain only a political label.
“Both sides share the view that discussion of the strategic partnership should begin from a clean sheet,” she said.
The foreign minister added that Georgia was fully prepared to continue political talks and expected the same readiness from the American side.
The comments came shortly after a change at the US Embassy in Tbilisi. Amy Diaz began serving as acting ambassador on July 30.
Analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze told Rezonansi that Bochorishvili’s remarks appeared intended to preserve what he described as a recent improvement in the tone of US-Georgian relations.
He argued that the embassy’s criticism did not fit with recent contacts between the two sides and suggested it could reflect political differences within the US administration. That was his interpretation, and the source provided no official US comment supporting it.
Sakvarelidze also said starting “from a clean sheet” would mean not continuing what he described as the Biden administration’s previous approach toward Georgia.
