Gogolashvili: Ivanishvili avoiding US commitments as Georgia strays from Western path

Georgian political analyst Kakha Gogolashvili has accused Bidzina Ivanishvili, the ruling party’s founder and honorary chair, of deliberately avoiding engagement with the United States as Georgia “drifts away from Western democratic standards.”

“Ivanishvili does not want to make any commitments or agree on anything with the US because Georgia is not going according to the scenario that America and Europe are interested in,” Gogolashvili said following Ivanishvili’s refusal to meet the US ambassador earlier this month. “There was no risk that he would meet with the US ambassador.”

Gogolashvili warned of what he described as “an undeclared war,” in which the ruling party was “actively using repressive measures.”

“As soon as sanctions are imposed or even discussed [against GD officials], they respond with arrests, with new laws - it’s retaliation against their own people,” he said, comparing the party’s approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s disregard for public welfare during the war in Ukraine. “For them, consequences no longer matter - people become statistics.”

According to the US Embassy in Tbilisi, Ivanishvili recently declined a meeting with Ambassador Robin Dunnigan, who was expected to deliver a message from the US administration. In a statement, Ivanishvili cited “personal blackmail” as his reason for refusing the talks, saying he found it “wrong to meet with the ambassador and discuss state affairs” under such circumstances.