Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should carry a tough message when he visits Tbilisi next week. The need for action stems from Georgia’s increasingly authoritarian governance.
Currently grappling with the aftermath of a contested election, Georgian security forces have been using water cannons and other weapons against protesters. But while these actions are serious and reflective of a broader disdain for human rights, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s government is certain to play down any difficulties when Pompeo arrives. Instead, Gakharia is presenting Pompeo’s visit as a signal that the United States is actually very satisfied with the current state of relations. Pompeo must educate Gakharia to a better truth. Namely, that while the U.S. seeks friendship and mutually beneficial diplomatic and economic engagement, it will not turn a blind eye to rising authoritarianism. The State Department says that Pompeo will “express our support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, to urge further progress in democratic reforms.” Let’s hope he uses more robust language behind closed doors.
The central concern here is Bidzina Ivanishvili. A billionaire oligarch who supports the governing Georgia Dream party, Ivanishvili is the real power behind Gakharia’s throne. Unfortunately, Ivanishvili has shown little interest in using his wealth and influence to advance this small nation’s global prospects. Instead, he has degraded Georgia’s developing rule of law and played to the nation’s northern aggressor, Russia. Ivanishvili has done so by undermining his nation’s economic links to the U.S. and European Union. His obstruction of a new port facility, and an Internet fiberoptics cable, for example, seem singularly designed to advance his crony interests alongside Putin’s strategic agenda.
That’s a problem: the more control Putin has over Georgia’s critical infrastructure, the further its national prospects will be degraded.
It needn’t be this way. U.S. exports to Georgia stood at $768 million in 2019, with an overall U.S. trade surplus of $616 million. Much more opportunity exists for expanded trade between both nations. At the same time, U.S.-Georgian security and military links are now well developed, with both sides engaging in especially close counter-terrorism cooperation. These are foundations to build on. But unless the U.S. pressures Ivanishivili to take more seriously his obligations to his people, the foundations of a better relationship will crumble.
Pompeo should thus be clear that the U.S. has been and wishes to continue being an active Georgian friend. But he should also make clear that Washington is increasingly concerned. If America witnesses an ongoing decline in Tbilisi’s respect for its people, it will ensure that those responsible face punitive financial and diplomatic consequences for their actions.
