Top US officials unlikely to visit Tbilisi under current government, opposition

A member of Georgia’s opposition group Coalition for Change, Giorgi Butikashvili, on Monday said senior United States officials were unlikely to visit Georgia while the ruling Georgian Dream party maintains what he described as “anti-American attitudes”.

Speaking on Monday, Butikashvili said neither US Secretary of State Marco Rubio nor Vice President JD Vance had visited Georgia, and claimed they would not do so under the current government.

His comments came ahead of Rubio’s planned official visit to Yerevan on 26 May, Georgia’s Independence Day.

Butikashvili said the visit reflected “strong US interest” in the South Caucasus region, including Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

He also argued that Armenia was becoming one of the region’s key countries in the geopolitical context of regional connectivity, adding that this would positively affect the country’s security and prosperity.

He further added the Georgian government was creating obstacles for both Europe and the United States in efforts to strengthen regional stability and security.