The President of the United States, Joe Biden, will host world leaders and high-ranking UN officials at a traditional reception in New York on September 25.
As "Voice of America" found out, Irakli Kobakhidze, who heads the Georgian delegation to the UN General Assembly, was initially on the list of those invited to the reception of the President, but the Biden administration canceled the invitation. A senior administration official and another congressional source confirmed the cancellation of the invitation to VOA.
In addition, along with rescinding the Prime Minister's invitation, the administration also refused all meetings with the Georgian delegation and a meeting with Prime Minister Kobakhidze, as well as Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor.
Speaking to "Voice of America" about this, another high-ranking official of the United States administration adds that "the recent actions and statements of the Georgian government indicate a shocking disrespect for democracy and the will of the Georgian people." However, he says he will not talk about the details of individual diplomatic discussions.
"Voice of America" also learned that the reason for this step is the anti-democratic behavior of the Georgian government and a number of steps, including the so-called The adoption of the law on foreign agents, the anti-corruption bureau's move against non-governmental organizations - "Transparency International Georgia" and "Choose Europe", as well as statements made by the ruling force about the banning of opposition parties. According to "Voice of America", the last communication with the Georgian government did not give the American administration hope that Tbilisi would change its course. On the contrary, the steps of the Georgian government convince the administration that it is determined to ignore the Euro-Atlantic integration of Georgia and the will of the Georgian people”, Voice of America said.
