Rift between US and once-close ally Georgia deepens

The rift between Georgia, once the closest partner of the United States in the Caucasus region, is deepening amid concerns about anti-democratic tendencies under the government of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

Speaking in the capital Tbilisi on Friday, Kobakhidze said that bilateral relations should now be reconsidered.

Things could not go on as they had in the past, the 46-year-old told the InterpressNews media outlet, and any improvement would depend on the Americans.

However, Kobakhidze, who came to office in February, did not give details on how Tbilisi might downgrade its ties with Washington.

According to media reports, the current cause of tensions is the decision of US President Joe Biden's administration to uninvite Kobakhidze from a reception at the UN General Assembly in New York.

The US embassy in Tbilisi said the invitation had been withdrawn due to growing concerns about the Georgian government's anti-democratic behaviour and its negative rhetoric towards the US and the West.

Georgia was a close ally of the US during President George W Bush's years in office from 2001-2009. Bush also promoted the country's rapprochement with NATO.

The Georgian head of state at the time was Mikhail Saakashvili, who has been imprisoned by the current leadership.

However, relations have deteriorated ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections on October 26. The ruling Georgian Dream party, founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, is similarly criticized in the West for its anti-European stance.

In the face of mass protests, it has pushed through laws similar to those in Russia where civil society is subject to stricter controls and the rights of homosexuals and other sexual minorities are curbed.

The leadership in Tbilisi rejects the criticism of its policies and denounces this as external interference in its national affairs.

Like the US, the European Union also views the development with concern, having made Georgia a candidate country at the end of 2023. However, Brussels has put the accession process on hold due to a controversial law on the control of civil society.