TBILISI, March 26 – A U.S. State Department envoy met with the Georgian opposition on Thursday, on a trip that also includes contacts with the government, the private sector and civil society groups.
The visiting official was identified as Peter Andreoli, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. According to Interpressnews, the meeting took place at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi and was attended by Nika Gvaramia, one of the figureheads of the Coalition for Change, Tina Bokuchava, front woman for the United National Movement, and Grigol Gegelia, foreign secretary of Lelo for Strong Georgia.
Before the meeting, Gegelia told reporters he planned to focus on what he described as political prisoners and the need for new, fair elections. He also said Andreoli was in Georgia to study the situation on the ground and to look into major political issues currently facing the country’s democracy.
Gegelia also pointed to the Middle Corridor, the trade route linking Europe and Asia through the South Caucasus, as a key topic. He said Andreoli’s visits to Poti port and the Anaklia area showed active U.S. interest in the corridor and in Georgia’s geopolitical role. Gegelia used the occasion to criticize the Georgian government’s handling of the stalled Anaklia deep-sea port project.
The U.S. Embassy said Andreoli would also meet representatives of the government, business sector and society during the visit, and that he would travel to the administrative boundary line.
Separately, Georgia’s Economy Ministry said Deputy Economy Minister Tamar Ioseliani briefed Andreoli on the progress of the Anaklia deep-sea port project.
