Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said last night that he wants to restore good relations with the new US administration of Donald Trump, praising their shared "values", reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
Ties between Tbilisi and Washington have been strained after Georgia was rocked by a wave of protests condemning the government's decision to postpone any discussions on possible membership in the European Union.
The demonstrations, marked by police violence and dozens of arrests, were also directed against the results of the parliamentary elections in October, won by the ruling "Georgian Dream" party, which is accused of vote rigging.
In December, under President Joe Biden, the US announced sanctions against Georgian officials, accusing the country of drawing inspiration from the repressive Vladimir Putin's Russia.
"We have expressed a clear desire to renew our strategic partnership with the United States," the Georgian prime minister said today.
His party, led behind the scenes by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, has pursued increasingly conservative and authoritarian policies in recent years, attacking people of different sexual orientations and civil society, AFP notes.
"We are glad that we have a coincidence of values with the administration of the new American president. We are optimistic and ready to restore relations between Georgia and the United States," Georgian Prime Minister Kobakhidze said.
According to him, this will depend on Donald Trump's ability to defeat the "deep state" - a term that emerged in conspiracy circles and suggests that secret structures actually hold the power and decision-making levers.
At the end of December, the US State Department imposed sanctions on oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili on the grounds that he was undermining Georgia's democratic and Euro-Atlantic future.
Previously, the United States imposed sanctions on the Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs, his deputy minister, and three police chiefs for human rights violations during the suppression of demonstrations in Georgia.