We, the British side, have decided to freeze our annual ‘Wardrop Dialogues’ between ministers for the first time in ten years. This is the first time the dialogue format has been used. In an exclusive interview with InterpressNews, UK Ambassador Gareth Ward revealed that the high-level defense talks were also cancelled and the new cyber-security program was suspended.
The diplomat cited recent anti-democratic acts of the Georgian Government, including the passage of a law restricting the civil society, the promotion and dissemination of conspiracy theories, and the promise to ban the opposition parties, as the reason for freezing the dialog.
The ambassador expressed his hope that the Georgian government would return to a pro-Western path after the elections and that trust between the parties would be restored.
“I expected that we would work to strengthen Georgia’s resilient and our common prosperity. But over the last year, the Georgian Government has chosen a completely different course. During my first months in Tbilisi, I had to express our concerns about the decline in democracy and anti-Western rhetoric. I hope the Georgian government changes its approach and allows me to regain my optimism.
“The Georgian government’s actions this year have damaged relations between Great Britain and Georgia as well as other Western partners. We were concerned when a law was passed restricting the civil society’s activities, despite the opposition of the public. The parliament also promised not to bring this law back onto the agenda. We were disappointed that the leaders of Georgian Dream started to promote conspiracy theories, and made assumptions that Western partners were undermining Georgia. We were shocked to learn that “Georgian Dream’s” election program included the promise of banning opposition parties.
“For these reason, we, the British, have decided, for the first 10 years, to freeze the annual high level ‘Wardrop Dialogue,’ between ministers. This is the very first time that the dialogue format has been used. We also cancelled planned high-level discussions between the defense chiefs, and put on hold a new cybersecurity program. We hope to see, after the elections, a return to a Euro-Atlantic approach to rebuild trust and a return to a closer partnership, irrespective of who is in power.
The United Kingdom-Georgia Strategic Dialogue (also known as Wardrop Dialogue) is an annual, high-level strategic dialogue format that takes place between Georgia and the United Kingdom. It addresses a range of issues including foreign, defense, and security policy, as well economy and trade. The first session of the dialogue took place in London in November 2014 during the visit to the UK by Foreign Minister Tamar Bernuchashvili. The meetings alternately take place in London and Tbilisi once a year.
The dialogue is named after Sir Oliver Wardrop. He was a British diplomat and first chief commissioner for the UK in Transcaucasia between 1919-20. He was the founder of Kartvelian Studies at Oxford University. He was fluent in Georgian and published many books about the country.
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