May 28, 2025 - The South Caucasus News - SouthCaucasusNews.com

U.S. Embassy in Georgia says GD founder Bidzina Ivanishvili declined a meeting with Ambassador Robin Dunnigan, who sought to convey a message from the Trump administration regarding the U.S.-Georgia relations.

“At Secretary Rubio’s request, on May 22, Ambassador Dunnigan asked for a meeting with Bidzina Ivanishvili to communicate a message from the Administration and to again relay specific steps the Georgian government can take to show it is serious about resetting its relationship with the United States,” the Embassy says in a statement published on May 28.

“It is our hope that the Georgian government sincerely wishes to return to 33 years of partnership and friendship with America and the American people,” the statement adds.

Amid the Georgian government’s ongoing international isolation following disputed elections in October 2024 and a shift in foreign policy away from Europe in November, along with months of anti-government protests since then, Georgian Dream says it is seeking to reset relations with the United States and the newly elected President Donald Trump. GD claims to share values with the Republican President and is betting on him in what it describes as an ongoing “fight” between Trump and the “deep state.” GD insists that the outcome of this fight will determine the future of relations between the two countries.

On November 30, the U.S. suspended the strategic partnership with Georgia. The decision came two days after the Georgian Dream unilaterally suspended EU accession efforts. On December 27, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned the ruling party’s founder and its honorary chairman, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is widely believed to be Georgia’s informal ruler. The U.S. said Ivanishvili’s actions “have enabled human rights abuses and undermined the democratic and European future of the Georgian people for the benefit of the Russian Federation.” In parallel, the MEGOBARI Act, which envisages wider sanctions against GD officials, is moving forward. In early May, the bill passed the House of Representatives with significant support. Most recently, U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio referred to Georgian Dream as an “anti-American government,” saying the U.S. will assess whether it is in its national interest to have an “anti-American government governing an important part of the world,” while noting that relations with Georgia are “currently under review.” Tbilisi tried to downplay Rubio’s remarks, accusing Rep. Joe Wilson, a staunch critic of the GD government, of misleadingly framing the question to the Secretary of State by calling Georgian Dream an “anti-American government.”

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