Due to the actions of the Georgian government, the United Kingdom has suspended the Wardrop Strategic Dialogue and the new cybersecurity program with Georgia, as well as canceled high-level talks. Ambassador Gareth Ward stated this in an interview with the Interpressnews agency.
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“Relations between Great Britain and Georgia, as well as with other Western partners, have been damaged by the steps taken by the Georgian government this year.
We were concerned when the parliament passed a law restricting the activities of civil society, even though it saw a lot of opposition from the public and committed itself not to put this law back on the agenda. We were disappointed when the leaders of Georgian Dream began to promote conspiracy theories and make assumptions that Western partners are undermining Georgia. We were shocked when Georgian Dream named the banning of opposition parties as a promise of its election program. For these reasons,
For the first time in 10 years, we, the British side, have decided to freeze the annual high-level 'Wardrop Dialogue' between ministers. This is the first time since the dialogue format was established. We also canceled planned high-level talks between the defense chiefs and put a new cyber security program on hold.
After the elections, regardless of who is in government, we hope to see clear evidence of a return to the Euro-Atlantic path to rebuild trust and return to a close partnership,” said Gareth Ward, who was appointed ambassador to Georgia in August.
The last, eighth annual of the Great Britain-Georgia strategic dialogue was held in January 2023. Ilia Darchiashvili, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, was received byJames Cleverly, who was then the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom. During the high-level talks, Cleverley confirmed Great Britain's unwavering support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The ministers agreed to increase cooperation in several priority areas during the meeting.
The Wardrop Strategic Dialogue is the main platform for relations between Georgia and the United Kingdom, encompassing nearly all areas of cooperation - political dialogue, foreign policy, defense and security issues, trade and economic relations, education and culture, and people-to-people contacts. The strategic dialogue between the two countries began in 2014 and was named in honor of the British diplomat Oliver Wardrop, who served as the highest representative of the United Kingdom in the Democratic Republic of Georgia from 1919 to 1921.
