According to James Jay Carafano, Senior Advisor to the President of the Heritage Foundation, the United States will neither side with the Georgian government nor against it. He made the statement in an interview with Independence Avenue Media.

“In my honest assessment, the Georgian government wants something like a ‘get out of jail free card’ - to have a partnership with the United States while doing whatever it wants. But that will not work. To move the relationship forward, both sides will need to deliver tangible results. [Donald Trump] is only interested in results. He is not interested in pleasant words - if you want to build a Trump Tower, fine. Or name a street after Trump, fine. But ‘where are the results? what are the concrete outcomes?’ - that is what truly matters to him.

Georgians will have to sit at the table and present something concrete and tangible on issues of mutual interest to the United States. They will not simply receive from President Trump: ‘Okay, Georgia is great,’ and that’s the end of it. The government’s policy has been to contain internal dissatisfaction. And when criticized by Europeans and Americans, it has distanced itself and moved closer to Russia and China.

I think the Georgian government must understand this: is the United States going to completely ignore political repression and the harassment of dissidents in Georgia? The answer is no. Not because we are simply pro-democracy or dislike the government, but because Georgia can never be a good partner if its people are not involved in shaping its future. Ultimately, this is up to the Georgian people.

The United States will neither take the side of the government nor the opposition. Frankly, that is not even a practical choice, because the political opposition is so fragmented and unrealistic that there is no real alternative to offer.

What is a successful government? It is not about ideology - right or left, conservative or liberal, pro-European or not. It is about good governance and better outcomes for people. That is what the United States wants; it is very, very pragmatic in this regard. On the one hand, the United States wants Georgia to follow a more stable political path because that is better for the country. On the other hand, it wants to work with the government that exists today to achieve better results for both sides,” Carafano said.

Carafano also stated that the United States will not beg Georgia to act like a real partner.

“The ball is in Georgia’s court. The United States will not beg Georgia to speak as a real partner on real issues. If the Georgian government only wants posturing, fine - but the United States will not chase it. If they want to live in the shadow of Russia and China, fine. We have other options.

On the other hand, if they want to expand Georgia’s access to the world, and bring more prosperity, stability, and security, then the United States is the best option. It is that simple. But we also have other matters in the world; we cannot spend our entire lives chasing Georgians.

From the opposition side, I think there are also some unrealistic expectations. What do you expect the United States to do? We are not going to come and fix your country. That is not our job. It is unrealistic to ask the United States to do what you cannot or will not do yourselves.

If you boycott elections and then say, ‘You must come and declare them illegitimate and pressure the authorities,’ we will not do that. We will not fund dissidents to hold endless conferences and run around without achieving results.

So I think neither side will be fully satisfied with how the United States engages with Georgia’s internal affairs. But America will engage in a way that is both pragmatic and constructive. It may not be perfect - nothing is. But we are not going to solve other people’s problems. We will not tell the government, ‘We will ensure the world ignores all your internal problems,’ and we will not tell the opposition, ‘We will solve all your complaints and issues.’ We are not going to make either side happy,” Carafano concluded.