On August 1, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Robin Dunnigan stated that the United States will continue to support many segments of Georgian society, including teachers, students, small business owners, activists, and civil society organizations, and emphasized that the United States "will always be a friend and partner to the Georgian people."

She was asked about the reasons for the freeze on U.S. assistance to the Georgian government, announced a day earlier by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and what to expect from Washington. The Ambassador reiterated "the absolute support of the U.S. government and the American people for the people of Georgia" and spoke of 33 years of cooperation in various fields, saying, "We have done this together to support Georgia's independence, sovereignty, and its path to Euro-Atlantic integration. And we will continue to do so for the Georgian people".

Commenting on the reason for the announced pause in direct assistance to the Georgian government, she said, "We have spoken to the government many times about some of the actions that we are very concerned about, some anti-democratic actions like the foreign agents law, but also other actions, false statements about the U.S., negative rhetoric about the U.S. and the West. And we've expressed our concerns many times and we've asked the government to reconsider its actions. And we've also said that we will review our bilateral relationship." She then emphasized that the pause in assistance came "as a result of that review" and that it was related to "some of the assistance that goes directly to the government."

Dunnigan stressed, "Our assistance that goes to teachers, students, farmers, small business owners, and community activists and civil society organizations - that assistance will continue." She added that "for the time being" the assistance that goes to the Georgian Defense Forces "will also continue." "That has not been affected yet. But as the secretary [Blinken] said, everything is under review," she noted.

The ambassador then regretted that the Georgian government's actions "have led to a halt in Georgia's EU accession process" and said the U.S. would like to work together again "to help realize the aspirations of the Georgian people to become a member of the Western family of democracies, and we stand ready to resume that relationship." She concluded: "So I hope that we can get back on track and that the government can take some important steps to help us do that, but I want to reiterate: we will always be a friend and a partner to the Georgian people."