When there are innuendos and rumors and speculation and comments that are not based in fact, then that can be very confusing for the people of Georgia. Such a comment made the US Ambassador to Georgia, while responding to the statement of Ned Price [Spokesperson of US Department of State].

“Well, what he said is that this is not the way partners communicate with each other. And I think that’s very important. I’m a diplomat. I represent the people of the United States. I don’t take anything that happens here in my capacity as the Ambassador personally. I represent the people of America and the President of the United States.

What Mr. Price said is very true. We need to be respectful. We need to treat each other as the partners that we are. I think that that is where the priorities should be. When there are innuendos and rumors and speculation and comments that are not based in fact, then that can be very confusing for the people of Georgia. I don’t think that that’s very helpful to the dialogue. A much more appropriate approach is to discuss your differences in private.

As I said the other day, it is natural that there are going to be disagreements when you have a partnership, when you have a friendship: that’s true, everybody knows that. But the best way to discuss that is to do so privately. And if you have to, then speak publicly, as we have on occasion issued public statements when we have concerns about actions that the government has taken that are not in keeping with best practices, that are not helping Georgia along its path toward the Euro Atlantic future that it’s striving for here.

So, I would say that fundamentally, as a diplomat, I would always prefer to engage privately, frankly, but always with respect. And that’s what I think everybody deserves”, - said Kelly Degnan.