Ana Tsitlidze: Georgian Government Cannot Repair Ties With US Because Washington Does Not Deal With Regimes

Ana Tsitlidze, a senior figure in Georgia’s opposition United National Movement (UNM), has said the Georgian government will not be able to repair relations with the United States, regardless of the development of Trump Tower Tbilisi.

“No matter what kind of Trump Tower Kobakhidze or Ivanishvili builds, they will not be able to mend relations with the United States. That is out of the question, because the United States does not make deals with regimes,” Tsitlidze said.

She argued that the only way to break the current deadlock in Georgian-US relations would be for Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, to step away from the country’s political affairs and allow Georgian citizens to participate in what she described as free and fair elections.

“The United States will not establish a strategic partnership with a regime that, in our view, beats and injures Georgian citizens, uses chemical agents against them, imprisons political opponents, seeks to ban opposition parties, and suppresses and fights independent media,” Tsitlidze said.

According to the opposition politician, Georgian Dream had previously sought to reassure its business supporters that relations with Washington would improve following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

“They were telling businessmen close to them: ‘Just give us some time — Biden will leave, Trump will come, and the sanctions will be lifted.’ But instead of sanctions being lifted, further sanctions followed,” she said.

Tsitlidze also questioned who among ordinary Georgian citizens would be able to afford property in the planned Trump Tower Tbilisi development.

“Which Georgian citizen will be able to buy a home there, where residential prices start at seven [thousand]? Which average Georgian can afford property there, apart from Georgian Dream [affiliates] and Russians who have entered the country in large numbers? Georgians earning salaries of 1,000 or 1,500 lari will not be able to buy anything there,” she said.

The international presentation of Trump Tower Tbilisi was held in the Georgian capital on September 15. The project is being developed in cooperation with The Trump Organization as part of the larger Downtown Tbilisi development.

The planned 62-storey, 280-metre tower is part of a wider project valued at around $2 billion. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze attended the presentation, while Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization, addressed the event via video link.