US State Department confirms invitation for Georgian FM to NATO summit

The United States State Department has confirmed that Ilia Darchiashvili, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, has received an official invitation to attend the NATO anniversary summit in Washington, following US sanctions on unspecified Georgian officials for the recent adoption of the foreign influence transparency law. 

In response to inquiries by Voice of America about whether Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Defense Minister Irakli Chikovani were also invited, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller clarified that the invitation extended specifically to the Foreign Minister. Miller said, “like other countries participating in the Partnership for Peace Program, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia is invited to participate in certain accompanying events.”

When asked if the State Department had received confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, the response was that the Georgian Dream ruling party “should listen to the Georgian people and steer the country back onto the Euro-Atlantic road.”.

PM Kobakhidze on Thursday announced that Georgia would be represented at the NATO summit. However, he did not specify who would attend, noting that details would be provided later. The NATO summit in Washington is scheduled for July 9-11. Despite recent tensions, including the adoption of the controversial law and anti-Western rhetoric, NATO extended an invitation to Georgia.

On June 24, James (Jim) O’Brien, the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, confirmed during a press meeting that Georgia and all partner countries would be invited to the summit. He reiterated that representatives from Georgia had already received invitations to “partnership events.”