Vice PM: FM’s appearance alongside US secretary of state signals possible thaw

Georgia's Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili standing alongside the US secretary of state is a symbolic indication of a possible normalisation of relations between Tbilisi and Washington, Vice Prime Minister and State Minister for Coordination of Law Enforcement Agencies Mamuka Mdinaradze said on Friday.

Speaking at a briefing at the Government Administration, Mdinaradze described the appearance of the two officials together as "a very good gesture" by the US side.

"It is highly symbolic that Georgia's foreign minister is standing alongside the secretary of state at a time when there is discussion about the possible normalisation of relations with the United States," he said. "I emphasize the words 'possible normalisation'. This is a very good gesture on the part of the hosts."

Mdinaradze also said Georgia had experienced first-hand many of the issues that officials in the current US administration have publicly discussed, contrasting their approach with that of the previous administration.

"Georgia has had a very difficult and painful experience with the issues that representatives of the current United States administration are talking about today," he said. "Unlike the previous administration, Georgia experienced these challenges directly. That difficult experience helps us make the right analysis and, most importantly, helps the Georgian people draw the right conclusions."