Salome Zourabichvili: “How strong is US if small nation can pivot toward China and Russia?”

Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, questioned the strength of the United States, stating that a nation of just 3.7 million people pivoting toward China and Russia casts doubt on America’s global influence.

In an interview with France 24, Zourabichvili shared her perspective on US President Donald Trump’s foreign policy approach, describing him as a realist:

“I believe Trump is a realist. The key message I heard at his inauguration was about a strong America. But how is America strong if a small country like Georgia can suddenly veer away from the West, abandon its strategic partnership with the US, and turn toward China and Russia? And what does a strong America do if the Black Sea is closed off to the American fleet?”

Zourabichvili emphasized the existence of a broader strategic reality, beyond ideological preferences, that Trump and the US must confront.