On 31 December, the EU ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell issued a video statement to the Georgian people, underlining that 2020 was a different year, which had brought society closer to each other through cooperation and solidarity. At the same time, he noted his hope that Georgia will overcome the political crisis.

“2020 was a year that started with a political crisis and ended with another. I trust that Georgia will overcome also this one but [I] cannot help but hope for the day when all the political energy that goes into fighting each other, will go into uniting this country and making it as strong as it can be – indeed as strong as Georgian citizens deserve it to be,” Hartzell’s statement emphasised.

The US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan also issued a congratulatory message to the people. “The challenges of 2020 did not prevent us from finding new ways to continue our important work in Georgia. Through our joint efforts, Americans and Georgians showed that we could and will stand together, no matter the challenges. In fact, all this good work has caught the eye of some of those who had served here in the past,” she wrote. A day earlier, the US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Reeker congratulated Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia on his reappointment and expressed hope for the US-Georgia partnership intensification. The parties discussed a variety of issues, including the US-Georgia partnership, including defence and security, democracy, the supremacy of law, and the economic spheres.

While addressing the current issue of the boycott of the Georgian opposition to enter the parliament, the country’s parliament speaker Archil Talakvadze said that the opposition’s demands on renewed elections lack grounds. “When the opposition says that a plebiscite on new elections is needed, it means the public has to wait for what it already has decided. Do you want to live in a country which holds new elections if the opposition rejects the outcome and does not want to oppose the ruling party within the parliament? Do you think the investors would be waiting for stable governance? Do you think businesspersons will stay indecisive over uncertainty in the country for another year? The country, which holds new elections unreasonably, cannot be considered as stable and democratic,” he stated.

The country’s parliament also adopted a foreign policy resolution, as the first draft initiated in the new legislature. The resolution declared de-occupation and restoration of territorial integrity through peaceful ways as the county’s top foreign policy objective. It also named EU membership as the priority “without alternative,” envisaging preparation of institutional and legislative grounds for applying for the full membership of the 27-member bloc in 2024. Another listed priority is becoming a NATO member, including by maintaining the defence capabilities and perfecting the compatibility with the Alliance to ensure strategic readiness for the membership as per the decision of the 2008 Bucharest Summit.

The document prioritises deepening relations with the US as the country’s main strategic partner and ally, particularly by increasing the US engagement in the Black Sea region as well as attaining a free trade agreement. The resolution also envisions attending to European security together with Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Baltic and Visegrád Group countries. In the Black Sea region, Georgia would aim to maintain peace, security and stability and deepen socio-economic and cultural ties, prioritising strategic partnership with Turkey and Azerbaijan, good-neighbourly and friendly relations with Armenia, and the full realisation of strategic potential in relations with Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.

As for the relations with Russia, the document points at the continued “pragmatic and principled” policy, aimed at ending the occupation, restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and ensuring peace, security and stability in the region. Georgia would also carry on working to avert conventional and hybrid threats coming from Russia using international mechanisms and engagement. It also envisages continued efforts to succeed in interstate disputes against Russia, including in enforcement of the already adopted decisions.

Other foreign policy priorities include strengthening bilateral ties with Israel, China, Japan, South Korea and India, as well as paying special attention to working in multilateral frameworks, and protecting the rights and interests of the Georgian citizens abroad.