Kobakhidze: "Georgia is not a schoolboy for someone to demand that it reform"
The Prime Minister of Georgia reacted sharply to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement about Washington's ability to influence the policies of the Georgian authorities.
The day before, the head of US diplomacy expressed hope that Washington would be able not only to improve bilateral relations but also to influence the "behavior" of official Tbilisi.
According to Kobakhidze, such an interpretation of the issue is unacceptable for an independent state.
"Georgia is not a schoolboy for someone to leave it until autumn and demand that it reform. It is a fully-fledged sovereign country, and we clearly state this at all levels," the Prime Minister emphasized.
According to him, Tbilisi remains committed to renewing its strategic partnership with Washington, but dialogue must be built solely on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
"If anything has deteriorated in Georgian-American relations in recent years, the previous administration is 100% to blame," Kobakhidze noted.
Earlier, the US Secretary of State reported that the Georgian side allegedly initiated the question of what needs to be done to improve relations. Kobakhidze categorically denies this.
"We never asked such questions," he stated.
Additional conflict arose over the words of Republican Congressman Joe Wilson. During a congressional hearing, he accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of helping Iran evade sanctions. Kobakhidze described these words as "shameful."
Furthermore, the congressman claimed that the parliamentary elections in Georgia were rigged. In response to these accusations, Rubio did not argue with the congressman.
"All the issues you've listed are of concern to us," he said, calling the questions Wilson raised "existent in the United States."
