According to Viktor Kipiani, co-founder of the political initiative Georgia First, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's recent statement makes it clear that "it is still premature to say that relations have improved."

Speaking on PalitraNews' program 360 Degrees, Kipiani stated that the renewed engagement from the American side could, to some extent, be interpreted as "starting a stopwatch" for the ruling Georgian Dream party.

"To put it more precisely, there are problems between the Georgian government and the U.S. administration. These problems are quite serious and fundamental, and the main responsibility for resolving them lies with the Georgian authorities. The American side is waiting to see concrete steps in specific areas that would contribute to improving bilateral relations.

It is evident from the statement that the negative legacy in Georgian-American relations remains. After all, this is not the Biden administration; it is the Trump administration. Therefore, the problems remain and have not disappeared anywhere. The intensified diplomacy from the American side and the very firm framing of the issue can, to some extent, be viewed as starting a stopwatch for Georgian Dream - either these issues will be resolved, or there may be a different continuation. What that continuation might be is difficult to say," Kipiani stated.

Kipiani also commented on the plea agreements reached with seven individuals detained in connection with the October 4 events. He suggested that this may have been a tactical move in light of recent contacts with American partners.

"I would like to say that perhaps this fits into a broader change in approach, although it is still too early to draw such a conclusion. It may simply have been a tactical move, particularly considering the recent contacts taking place with our American partners. Could these be merely tactical maneuvers?

On the one hand, I sincerely want to interpret it that way, but we are also witnessing second-tier developments and entirely different processes that, because of their significance, overshadow what we are discussing now. If we compare these specific developments with the broader backdrop - which is becoming increasingly severe and even more toxic - then such a conclusion appears even less sufficient and more premature. At this stage, we do not have enough grounds to say that there has been a genuine shift in domestic political approaches," Kipiani said.

As a reminder, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that the United States would see a change in Georgia's current trajectory.

Specifically, Rubio was responding in Congress to a question from Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, who accused Georgian Dream of supporting Iran and China and asked what should be done to address the "rapid radicalization" allegedly being promoted by the Georgian Dream government.

The U.S. Secretary of State told the congressman that his concerns were "valid" and reflected Washington's existing concerns. However, Rubio added that the Georgian government had taken certain steps indicating to Washington that it wanted to improve relations. As a result, the United States presented a set of expectations to Georgian Dream and received what Rubio described as "some positive responses."

Rubio stated that Washington hopes to see a change in Georgia's current trajectory.

He also noted that the Georgian government itself had asked what would be necessary to achieve better relations with the United States, and Washington provided an answer. Rubio expressed hope that progress would be achieved on that basis and that the United States would be able to influence not only the trajectory of relations with Georgia but also changes in the Georgian government's behavior.