Rusa Shelia

Since Georgia's independence and the declaration of the country's western course, relations with Washington have continuously been the main foreign priority for official Tbilisi. One of the main roles has always been assigned to the Embassy of Georgia to advocate the interests of the Georgian side and to establish and deepen close cooperation in various directions, both political, economic, and public. John Herbst, Director of Eurasia Programs at the Atlantic Council, said in an interview with Globalnews.ge that "the Embassy of Georgia in Washington has always been quite active and acted with clearly defined priorities." Can we describe the actions of the Embassy of Georgia in the same way today?
For example, how actively does the Georgian diplomatic mission work with the United States Congress to deepen not only political but also economic relations and obtain appropriate support? Is the strategic charter signed between the two countries the focus of the Georgian side, which is one of the main instruments of cooperation between official Tbilisi and Washington, and which plenary session has not been held for the fourth year already?
In short, many questions arise, and they are heard more acutely and intensely in the background, especially when the Russian military aggression in Ukraine has given the West and all the states that consider their future in this space an additional strong impulse to work together. Along with the challenges, significant tangible opportunities have opened up for Georgia.

In public sources, it is easy to find information on events or meetings organized by the Embassy of Georgia, which they publish themselves. For example, on the social network Facebook, even if you look at the activities of the embassy in the last six months, without any subjective evaluation, you will objectively come to the conclusion that the Georgian side has limited its diplomatic mission mainly to the interests of social issues. 

Georgian wine tasting evenings, film screenings, rugby match receptions, etc., are actively held in the embassy building. Against this background, the traditional diplomatic functions, which are, without exaggeration, of vital importance for Georgia, have been completely neglected. Such unbalanced priorities raise questions about the superficiality of the diplomatic mission and the frivolity of Georgia's foreign policy goals. 

More specifically and in detail, on the official page, the embassy informs us about the following diplomatic activities: "Within the framework of culinary diplomacy, diplomats of the Embassy of Georgia, together with chef Ucha Mamulashvili, presented the stand of Georgia at the festival of chefs of embassies in Washington." It also reports that "the Embassy of Georgia hosted the screening of the film "Citizen Saint," presented by Georgia at the Academy Awards (Oscar)." Another post is dedicated to the story that "within the framework of his visit to the state of Texas, the Ambassador of Georgia, David Zalkaliani, made an opening speech at the "Wine Forum" held at the University of Texas in Austin and spoke about the importance of promoting Georgian wine in the US and the growth of exports." The Georgian diplomatic mission informs us on its official page that "on October 26, the Georgian Embassy in Washington hosted Georgian Wine Day." On the same page, you will read that "the Embassy of Georgia in the US hosted an event dedicated to the Rugby World Cup, which aims to present Georgia as an advanced rugby country and popularize the sport in Washington and the United States of America." And again, "We were visited by a citizen of Fiji at the embassy, who is a devoted rugby fan and is looking forward to tomorrow's match as much as we are." In short, you will find a lot of information about these and other similar events on the official website of the embassy, which ultimately creates a clear impression of the priorities of the Georgian diplomatic mission in Washington and how Georgia positions itself in the global arena over the last year and a half.

"In my experience, the Embassy of Georgia has always had active cooperation with Washington and was distinguished by a quite leadership position. However, especially in the last two years, it has become obvious that the Georgian side in Washington has actually disappeared, and probably the reason for this is that Tbilisi's position towards its partners, as well as the official Tbilisi Democratic practice, has reached the worst mark in history. This was repeatedly mentioned by the Americans who are friends of Georgia in the Congress. We see them attacking the United States. Naturally, this position of official Tbilisi does not put the Georgian Embassy in an easy position," said John Herbst in a conversation with Globalnews.ge.

According to him, "it is a lie that the United States has lost interest in Georgia because Washington has always had and still has a desire for good relations with official Tbilisi." "Perhaps such statements are considered by their authors to be a smart decision for domestic political discussion, although the statements that the United States has lost interest in Georgia are completely false. Washington has the same interest in good relations with Tbilisi as it has had for 30 years. Against the background of these statements, it can be seen that most likely, they feel insecure and try to avoid their responsibility with such accusations. Such statements look like an attempt to avoid actually working with a strategic partner in accordance with democratic principles," said the Director of Eurasia Programs of the Atlantic Council.

The former ambassador of Georgia to the United States, Tedo Japaridze, recalls the first years of diplomatic relations with Washington and says that "establishing and deepening relations with the United States was an informed choice of Georgia, which was not an easy process to achieve." Now, there is a risk that the Georgian efforts were "demolished" by the will of the rulling party.

"During this most difficult period, Georgia was able to gain a place in the strategic agenda of the United States and thereby ensure the country's independence and sovereignty. It was not an easy process and it determined our strategic orientation and vectors. Now, it should not happen that all of this collapses. Keeping the priority in a bilateral format is crucial, and both sides should take care of it, especially a small country like Georgia. Georgia needs this priority to solve the existing problems. During these more than 30 years, relations with the US were of existential importance for Georgia. If Georgia first survived and then established itself as an independent state, the role of the US was immeasurably greater. Moreover, relations with the Americans have never been, as some say, "jumping on one foot" and vassalage - we have always stated our strategic interests, and the Americans understand all of this. Moreover, they were careful and always stood by us. In politics, unfortunately, it doesn't happen like that: I cursed you, but let's forget all this now, turn over a new page and start relations anew. This is not the case in diplomacy either. Repairing damaged relationships takes time and, most importantly, active work. As for the embassy, the embassy does what it receives instructions from the capital. In such a difficult period in which the world has found itself, Georgia must make the right strategic choice and be on the right side. It should not happen that the choice of Georgia gets confused. The size of the power, the desire to maintain it or gain it, should not confuse one's own priorities," the former ambassador said.

The founder of the Center for Strategic Analysis, Nodar Kharshiladze, is more acute in his assessments and talks about the lack of vision on the part of the Georgian diplomatic mission in Washington. 

"Georgian diplomacy in Washington has absolutely shifted into a passive mode. Moreover, it seems that the ambassador is trying not to attract too much attention. Despite the difficult times, Georgia has always tried to present its own initiatives to Washington in order to gain both political and economic support. Everyone knows that, for example, the free trade agreement with the United States is a rather lengthy process, but a few years ago, active negotiations and work were about to begin, and it was quite successful. However, work in this regard has been completely halted in recent years. For a long time, Georgia has not put forth any initiatives, and if any news is announced with the United States, it is mainly related to the field of defense. It is only on the initiative of the American side. The diplomatic mission should work with the Congress and the so-called congressional staffers who present crucial materials to senators and congressmen. It is a fact that today the Embassy of Georgia lacks vision, initiative, or even a clear idea of what it is doing or what it should do. That is why the ambassador is mainly focused on organizing wine tastings and similar events. No one is saying that the promotion of Georgian wine is bad, but what diplomatic activities do we have in parallel with it? No important meetings, roundtable formats, presentations, or other types of activities should be the main priority of the Georgian side. Is the embassy just a marketing agency hired to promote wine? Today, the Georgian ambassador to the United States is a former foreign minister, so he should understand well how actions of this type are perceived. It is clear to everyone that the events through which the embassy stands out today are not focused on real results and only serve to make the so-called ambassador mark the stamps as if he is engaged in some activity," said an analyst with Globalnews.ge.

Lastly, while preparing the material, we contacted the Embassy of Georgia in the United States to hear directly from the ambassador what main priorities he defined as a diplomat, representing the Georgian side in Washington. However, Ambassador David Zalkaliani refused to comment.