Georgia said on Tuesday it was "patiently" awaiting a restoration of relations with the United States, after US Vice President J.D. Vance visited neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan but bypassed Tbilisi — once Washington's closest regional ally. This is reported by Agence France-Presse, writes UNN.
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It is noted that relations between Georgia and the United States have sharply deteriorated over the past two years, with American officials accusing the Georgian Dream party government of democratic backsliding and rapprochement with Russia.
Washington has suspended a strategic partnership agreement with Tbilisi and imposed sanctions on high-ranking officials associated with the ruling party.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said that Tbilisi remains open to restoring relations, despite his city being excluded from Vance's South Caucasus itinerary.
When asked about Vance's apparent disregard for Georgia, Kobakhidze said the country would wait "as long as it takes, patiently" until the US changes its position.
When asked when this patience might run out, he replied: "Never."
Kobakhidze noted that Georgia has already made what he called its "main step" by openly expressing its readiness to restore partnership with Washington "from a new page."
He added that Georgia is ready to "discuss all issues without any conditions and restore strategic ties based on a specific roadmap."
The publication emphasizes that for a long time, Georgia was considered one of the most pro-European and pro-American states in the former Soviet Union and a champion of democratic reforms, with successive governments seeking integration into NATO and the EU and conducting military cooperation programs with the US.
But relations soured amid mass protests over controversial laws restricting political dissent, media, and civil society, as well as anti-Western rhetoric from Georgian Dream leaders, which Washington and Brussels have deemed hostile and conspiratorial.
Vance's trip to Yerevan and Baku aims to promote US-backed regional integration — including a trade route that bypasses Georgia — as well as peace initiatives, highlighting Tbilisi's growing diplomatic isolation from its traditional Western partners