“If there had been an opportunity for such a conversation with President Trump and Rubio that would have produced a photo, we would have already seen that photo. It would have been released by the propagandists with cries of victory,” opposition politician Teona Akubardia said, responding to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement that he had an opportunity to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to New York.

According to her, this shows that there is no longer any realistic possibility of resetting relations with the United States.

“If there had been an opportunity for such a conversation with President Trump and Rubio that would have produced a photo, we would have already seen that photo. It would have been released by the propagandists with cries of victory.

“It was specified that there was some brief conversation during the reception. Apparently, while shaking hands, he said which country he was from and received some kind of response. We were not even told what response he received. All of this shows that there is no longer any realistic possibility of resetting relations. Once again, this shows that they are trying, by inertia, to convince citizens that they are working to restore relations with the United States. This is happening against the backdrop of Armenia and Azerbaijan not only having strategic partnerships established, but also already attracting investment into the Trump peace corridor, which will be an important foundation for long-term peace in the region, with Georgia being the exception,” Akubardia said.

For reference, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said yesterday that during his visit to the United Nations, he had an opportunity to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“The visit was not to the United States but to the United Nations. However, during the visit, I had an opportunity to speak with both the U.S. president and the U.S. secretary of state, where I briefly noted that our desire is to restore the strategic partnership. This essentially depends on the United States itself. We have taken a step on our side and are waiting for reciprocal steps. This was my message during the brief conversations, both with the U.S. president and the secretary of state. I had brief conversations with both the U.S. president and the secretary of state during the reception and emphasized the importance of restoring the strategic partnership for us. We expressed our desire to restore the strategic partnership, and the attitude was very positive; these brief conversations went positively,” the prime minister said.