On 25 March, the US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan spoke extensively on the current political crisis in the country while holding an interview with Georgia’s Public Broadcaster. 

She emphasised that after a little over a year as ambassador, her tenure in Georgia has been dominated by Covid-19 but not defined by it. Degnan added that now is the moment for Georgia to double its efforts to achieve its internal and foreign policy priorities, which include Euro-Atlantic integration, strong security and defence partnerships that are resilient to Russian aggression, strengthening democratic institutions and diversifying its economy so it could withstand external shocks. 

The majority of Degnan’s interview was however committed to the ongoing political crisis in the country. She stressed that she participated in the renewed negotiations mediated by European Council President Michel’s special envoy Ambassador Christian Danielsson. “While no agreement was reached last week, it was not for lack of trying. It was a lot of good effort by all the parties. I’m a strong advocate of an immediate resolution to this crisis because I think Georgia has some serious challenges that it needs to be focusing on. But I recognise there are still very deep divides within Georgian society. And it’s the United States’ strong belief that the place to bridge those divides is in parliament, where members of parliament can debate the issues and adopt legislation that will advance the kinds of reforms that Georgia very much needs at this point in its democratic development. A parliament that is dominated by one party is not healthy,” she said. 

“It’s all of the parties, the ruling party, the opposition party need to have the political courage to take these difficult steps forward. They need to understand that compromise is not a sign of weakness and their supporters need to understand that as well. In fact, compromise is the way to bridge differences as we see in Georgia. It’s a sign of respect to the voters. No party won a majority in last October’s elections. And the simple fact is that democracy cannot function without a willingness to compromise in the best interests of all the people of Georgia,” Degnan added. She also expressed her beliefs that people’s elected representatives must negotiate the solution to the political crisis in the country. “We have at the table the elected representatives of the people, and Mr Bidzina Ivanishvili (former chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party) and Mr Mikhael Saakashvili (former leader of the opposition United National Movement party) are not elected representatives, and they’re not participants in this dialogue. The outcome, the solution here is going to be negotiated by the people’s elected representatives. And I hope it will represent the interests of all Georgians,” she said. 

Degnan highlighted that the diplomatic mediators have been working with the political parties in Georgia for five months on trying to resolve their differences. “We have been trying to resolve their differences. And I think the parties have been constructive in the course of the five months. I’ve been impressed with their willingness to listen to each other, to articulate their concerns, to explain their priorities, to explore areas of possible compromise. There is no shortage of proposals put forth by either the ruling party or the opposition. There’s no lack of willingness to sit at a table together and talk about these different positions. What there is is a lack of the political courage to take the final step forward and to make compromises. No one is going to get one hundred per cent of what they want out of a compromise deal. That is by definition. And right now, I think it is. We saw last week after a very good intervention by Ambassador Danielsson. It appeared that some parties were not ready to make a final decision,” she stated.

However, when asked what the difference between the events on Capitol Hill when supporters of former US President Donald Trump stormed the building on 7 January 2021 and the case of the arrest of the UNM leader Nika Melia, Degnan argued that the strength of US institutions helped to overcome the political crisis. “You cannot take for granted that a democracy is always going to be there. It’s only there if we the people continue to support it and fight to make sure that our institutions are strong and independent, the United States believes the place to fight for that is within the parliament, [it] is to use the institutions that you’ve built to make sure that they stay strong,” she added.

She also praised the establishment of the proportional system in the country and emphasised Georgia has made some very impressive progress after twenty, thirty years of building a democracy. “That is the subject of the electoral reform that the party leaders negotiated here in my house during negotiations last year and that they have continued in parliament through the working group that is now looking at draft legislation. I think it was very positive that parliament sent the initial draft to ODIHR to the OSCE to review it. There are many recommendations by international experts over the years that have not been reflected in electoral reform. So, it is very positive that this is an effort to really make fundamental improvements to Georgia’s election system that we all hope will eliminate the kinds of violations that were a problem not just in the last elections, but in previous elections,” she stated.

Finally, Degnan also reaffirmed the strong support of the US President Joseph Biden for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “President Biden has made a commitment to push back and to defend the rights of free nations, free markets, countries like Georgia to choose their own future and direction. You know, the support for Georgia in America is bipartisan right now. There is also bipartisan concern about Georgia’s future and where the political leaders are steering this country. But that comes from a recognition that we share values that are very important and fundamental. New opportunities have emerged in the region as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace agreement. Georgia must be well-positioned to use these opportunities, aspirations, to become a communications, transport and trade hub between the west and the east. This is a chance that Georgia should not miss. This is another reason why we call on the parties to reach an agreement so that they can concentrate on these big changes that are being observed around this country. It is disturbing that Russian forces are deployed in all three Caucasus countries,” she underscored.