Sonata Coulter, a US Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary, has arrived in Georgia to meet with both the government and the opposition.
Coulter, who oversees Russia, the Caucasus, and European Security and Political Affairs, held her first meetings in Tbilisi on Thursday. She arrived in Georgia after a visit to Armenia.
According to information released by the Georgian government on Thursday, Coulter met with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, and Head of the Government Administration Levan Zhorzholiani.
‘The Prime Minister once again confirmed the Georgian government’s readiness to reset bilateral relations and to renew the strategic partnership from a clean slate, with a concrete roadmap focused on tangible results’, the statement read.
It added that ‘particular emphasis was placed on the importance of connectivity and Georgia’s role in the Middle Corridor’.
The following day, on Friday, Coulter met with representatives of the political opposition. According to IPN, the meeting included representatives of an opposition alliance made up of nine parties, as well as parties outside the alliance — Lelo and For Georgia.
Following the meeting, Badri Japaridze, co-founder of Lelo, told the media that the discussion focused on ‘the importance the US has for Georgia, for its security, and for its economic development’.
‘The deep involvement of the US in the region is very important for our country. Accordingly, we support the efforts we see from the US to become more actively engaged’, he added, as quoted by IPN.
According to Zurab Japaridze, leader of the opposition alliance member party Girchi — More Freedom, ‘everything was discussed’, including what he described as the ruling Georgian Dream party’s promises about improving relations between the two countries being a ‘lie’. Japaridze said that while speaking about mending relations, the ruling party is ‘waging anti-Western and anti-US propaganda’.
‘There was also discussion that genuinely good, sincere, and friendly relations between the United States and Georgia will only exist once the regime changes’, he added.
For her part, Ana Buchukuri of For Georgia said that no matter how much Georgian Dream tries to ‘bargain’ with the geopolitical situation, it could only have a ‘short-term’ effect, because ‘in the long term, everyone knows very well who Georgian Dream really is’.
‘Our main message has always been, including at this meeting: despite everything, please keep Georgia on the agenda in order to support the Georgian people’, she noted.
The meetings with both government and opposition figures were also attended by Alan Purcell, the US Chargé d'affaires in Georgia.
In parallel with Coulter’s visit, NATO Caucasus and Central Asia representative Kevin Hamilton also arrived in Georgia. On Friday, he met with Botchorishvili, as well as Defence Minister Irakli Chikovani.
‘The conversation focused on the significance of political dialogue and practical cooperation with the Alliance. Emphasis was placed on NATO’s support for enhancing the country’s defence capabilities’, the Foreign Ministry said.
It noted that ‘Hamilton expressed gratitude to the Georgian side for its contribution to the strengthening of common Euro-Atlantic security and reaffirmed the Alliance’s unequivocal support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity’.
In its turn, the Defence Ministry noted that they discussed ‘the main directions of NATO–Georgia cooperation and future prospects’.
‘Attention was focused on the results achieved within the framework of long-term cooperation, including initiatives under the NATO–Georgia Substantial Package (SNGP)’, the statement read.
Deteriorated relations
In recent days, Georgian government officials had repeatedly claimed that a US delegation would visit Georgia in May, but did not specify who would visit.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
Relations between Georgia and the US have sharply deteriorated amidst the Georgian authorities’ adoption of restrictive laws, the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections, and police violence against anti-government demonstrators.
Washington has also sanctioned a number of Georgian officials, including Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of the ruling party. In November 2024, following Tbilisi’s decision to suspend the country’s EU membership bid, the US also halted its strategic partnership with Georgia.
Georgian Dream linked the deterioration of relations to the policies of then-President Joe Biden and openly stated hopes that relations could be restored under the administration of President Donald Trump. After Trump’s coming to power, both Kobakhidze in May 2025 and President Mikheil Kavelashvili in September publicly expressed disappointment regarding the lack of progress.
In February 2026, Vice President JD Vance embarked on a historic visit to the South Caucasus, but skipped Georgia, prompting speculation that the itinerary was an intentional slight towards Tbilisi.
The highest-level communication between the sides to date took place at the end of March, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze held a phone conversation with US State Secretary Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, Trump also recently signed a continuation of earlier sanctions that included measures against Ivanishvili.
However, there have also been signs in the other direction in recent months, such as when Georgian First Lady Tamar Bagrationi visited Washington, allegedly at the personal invitation of her US counterpart Melania Trump.
At the same time, several lower level visits to Tbilisi and Washington took place in the previous period.
In January, a congressional staff delegation visited Georgia, while in March the acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department, Peter Andreoli, was in the country. In both cases, meetings were held with representatives of both the government and the opposition.
Also in March, a delegation of Georgian Dream MPs visited Washington, where MP Nikoloz Samkharadze addressed the Alliance of Sovereign Nations summit, organised by far-right, pro-Russian Republican congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna.
Earlier, in February, Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia travelled to Washington, where he met with representatives of the US State Department, including Brendan Hanrahan, the Senior Bureau Official for European and Eurasian Affairs.
