“Why should U.S. leaders meet with a government that has insulted our ambassadors, accused us of attempting to drag them into a ‘second front,’ and is aligned with people who chant ‘Death to America’?” - said Laura Thornton, Director of the Global Democracy Programs at the McCain Institute, in an interview with InterpressNews, responding to a question about what it indicates that the U.S. Vice President will not visit Georgia while traveling to Azerbaijan and Armenia.

According to Thornton, the Georgian government is isolated and politically irrelevant; however, she emphasized that the Georgian people are not forgotten and that many continue to fight for Georgian democracy.

“The Georgian government is isolated and politically irrelevant. It would be strange if ‘Georgian Dream’ were surprised by this, since they have done nothing but insult the United States and traditional allies, while simultaneously moving closer to the West’s main adversaries. Why should U.S. leaders meet with a government that has insulted our ambassadors, accused us of trying to drag them into a ‘second front,’ and is aligned with people who chant ‘Death to America’?

I want to make it very clear that alongside the isolation of ‘Georgian Dream,’ we do not forget the Georgian people, and many of us continue to fight for Georgian democracy,” Thornton said.

She considers it impossible to reset relations between Tbilisi and Washington under the current Georgian authorities, especially given, as she noted, that Georgia is not a “critical trading partner or a source of essential resources.”

“I do not see how this would be possible under the rule of ‘Georgian Dream’ and Ivanishvili unless there is a series of radical reforms - new elections (under a new electoral commission), justice for those who attacked democracy, the release of all political prisoners, the reversal of anti-democratic legislation, and so on. Georgia is not a critical trading partner or a source of essential resources. The United States, of course, maintains relations with authoritarian regimes for various strategic, security, or economic reasons, but I do not see what those reasons would be in Georgia’s case.

As for the ‘MEGOBARI Act,’ Thornton said that “unfortunately, those who are lobbying against the MEGOBARI Act are doing so for financial reasons.

“The only thing that has not changed is the bipartisan consensus that Georgia is no longer a democratic and reliable ally. The MEGOBARI Act had broad support. However, in Congress, sometimes just a few people are enough to block legislation. Excellent reporting by The Hill shows that, unfortunately, those lobbying against MEGOBARI are doing so for financial reasons. No one - including those opposing the bill - claims that ‘Georgian Dream’ is a model of democracy and human rights. But we have elections, Congress changes shape. I hope that all is not yet lost. I repeat: the vast majority support Georgian democrats and want to apply as much pressure as possible on the regime - through financial sanctions - to influence its most vulnerable points,” Thornton stated.