President Kavelashvili: I’m proud that Georgia can stand on its own and defend its national interests

Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili on Friday said he felt proud that the country was capable of maintaining an independent stance and asserting its national interests on the global stage.

Speaking on Georgian Public Broadcaster, Kavelashvili noted that Georgia no longer followed anyone’s lead but instead engaged with all partners as an equal.

“I still have this inner sense of pride that today our country can position itself independently, not chasing after anyone, not clinging to anyone’s coattails, but presenting itself as a sovereign state with its own national interests, equal in its relations with everyone, no matter how powerful the other side may be,” Kavelashvili said.

He said the same political and media forces that opposed Donald Trump in the United States also targeted Georgia’s Government using similar tactics.

“It is exactly the same pattern as the campaign against Trump. Almost all of Hollywood was against him, calling him part of a Russian project. Don’t people here ask themselves questions? Is Trump Russian too? The same people - Saakashvili, Gvaramia, and others - were spreading identical accusations when Trump won. In terms of values, we and Trump share similar principles: family values, national interests, economic development, migration policies,” Kavelashvili noted.

He also highlighted his meeting with Trump in New York, saying it demonstrated the possibility of reopening dialogue between the two countries.

“Trump himself said he would return to this topic. We understand the current global realities; we are not demanding immediate answers. Georgia may not yet be high on the global agenda, and that is understandable. But we have positive expectations,” he said.