“We had a very productive meeting. We conducted a very broad review of the serious challenges facing our democracy. We also emphasized the ‘Middle Corridor,’” said Grigol Gegelia, Foreign Secretary of Lelo – Strong Georgia, after the opposition delegation’s meeting with Peter Andreoli, a representative of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.

He added that “the U.S. is interested in the Middle Corridor and in ensuring that the deep-sea port of Anaklia succeeds, serving Georgia’s national interests as well as those of the political West.”

"We had a very productive meeting. He is a high-ranking U.S. State Department official with a very important mandate regarding our region. Of course, we conducted a broad review of the serious challenges currently facing our democracy, including the persecution of political opposition, the suppression of political pluralism, and attempts to dissolve political parties — all actions associated with ‘Georgian Dream.’

We also reviewed the very serious geopolitical situation in the region. Naturally, we placed significant emphasis on the Middle Corridor, as the U.S. is openly very interested in it. They are interested in ensuring that the deep-sea port of Anaklia succeeds and serves Georgia’s national interests, as well as those of the political West.

We also discussed the general dynamics in the region and assessed, from the perspective of Georgia’s democratic forces, how compatible the ‘GD’ regime is with the geopolitical goals and objectives of the U.S. in our region. My message in this meeting was clear: the ‘GD’ regime is not compatible with U.S. national interests, and the ‘GD’ officials are affiliated with parties that openly oppose U.S. national and Western political interests — such as Iran and China."