The United States soon will be without an ambassador in the country of Georgia, as Robin Dunnigan ends her tenure there, even though, for years, Georgia has been a key partner to America in a difficult neighborhood, and its population has been among the most pro-American in the region. The Georgian people still hold such views, but the government clearly tilts toward Moscow and is increasingly behaving like the Russian regime in its crackdown on the Georgian opposition and civil society.
Such dynamics make it imperative for the Trump administration to quickly nominate a replacement for Dunnigan – one who will speak out forcefully against the Georgian government’s authoritarian and pro-Russian behavior. The U.S. Senate, for its part, should confirm a qualified candidate who meets that test. It also must pass legislation already approved by the House on May 5 that would hold Georgian officials accountable for their anti-American actions and demonstrate U.S. concern for their country’s slide toward authoritarian rule.
The United States, together with European allies, should redouble efforts to get Georgia back on a democratic, pro-Western path. There’s a window of opportunity because Russia is losing influence in the region. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have soured on their ties to Moscow. And Ukraine, of course, is fending off Russia’s brutal invasion.
Security Partner
Not so long ago, Georgia was an important security partner of the United States. Remarkably, given its small size, Georgia was the largest non-NATO troop contributor to Operation Iraqi Freedom and to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Despite intense Russian pressure not to do so, Georgia also hosted both U.S. Marines and U.S. Army troops to conduct exercises and train-and-equip programs with the Georgian armed forces.
Those days are gone. Particularly since the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has adopted strident anti-American rhetoric. Controlled by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, it has falsely accused the United States of trying to drag Georgia into another war with Russia (Russia invaded Georgia in 2008). Party leaders also accuse the United States of fomenting another “color revolution” in Georgia (the Rose Revolution in 2003 brought to power a very pro-American government).
Georgian Dream has essentially ended cooperation with the United States, particularly the American military, and has instead treated the West as the enemy. Georgia has frozen accession talks with the European Union and no longer attends NATO summits. In 2023, the GD government established a strategic partnership with China and this year, it expressed solidarity with the Iranian regime after the American strikes there recently.
While Georgia’s trade and cooperation with the West has plummeted, trade with Russia and China has skyrocketed, and the number of Iranian-owned companies operating in Georgia has more than quadrupled since GD took power.
The ruling party apparently believes that aligning with illiberal States offers greater benefits than partnering with the United States and Europe and that accommodating Russia is existential. Its appeasement policy includes adopting the Kremlin’s political playbook: It used coercive methods to gain a questionable victory in elections last fall, imprisoning opposition leaders and attempting to silence and intimidate independent media and civil society by branding them “foreign agents.”
In short, like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ivanishvili is gathering all the reins of power to ensure his and the regime’s survival.
GD’s decision to align the country away from the West flies in the face of Georgian public opinion. Polls routinely show that as many as 80 percent of Georgians support joining the European Union and NATO. Since last fall’s controversial parliamentary elections, the Georgian people have been bravely turning out in the streets for nightly protests, despite use of force by authorities, to demand an end to the government’s authoritarian measures and pro-Russian orientation. The government has arrested most opposition leaders and is threatening to go after civil society representatives, too. These are the Georgians who need and deserve America’s support.
Congressional Legislation
Apart from some targeted sanctions against leading GD politicians, the Biden administration did not do enough to support the Georgian people’s aspirations to join the West and to counter Russian, Chinese, and Iranian influence. Congress can step in and help by passing the MEGOBARI Act, an acronym for the legislation that means “friend” in Georgian. There appears to be little opposition to its passage but other legislation has taken up the Senate’s time and attention.
The act would impose further sanctions against bad actors in the Georgian government: Ivanishvili was sanctioned at the end of the Biden administration but his puppet prime minister and other key officials have not been penalized for their actions.
Importantly, the act also holds out the promise of increased U.S. investment and security cooperation if GD abandons its anti-Western path, or a new, better government comes into office. It calls on the administration to formulate a five-year strategy for U.S. relations with Georgia. That would strengthen Georgia’s capacity to deter threats from Russia – rather than feeling the need to pursue a policy of appeasement.
It wasn’t long ago that the United States enjoyed a robust security partnership with Georgia. But its government has taken the country far away from the goal of most Georgians – a vibrant democracy integrated with the Western community.
To show solidarity with most Georgians, the Trump administration should appoint a new ambassador, and the Senate should pass the MEGOBARI Act. Both steps are needed urgently before Ivanishvili and GD do more harm to their people and before the United States loses an important regional partner permanently.
