Georgian leadership looks forward to reset in relations with U.S. after new administration takes office - PM

TBILISI. Dec 9 (Interfax) - The Georgian leadership looks forward to resetting its relations with the United States after the new administration takes office, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.

"We do hope for a reset based on real strategic partnership in our relations with the U.S. as the new administration takes office, and we should know clearly how these strategic relations benefit both Georgia and the U.S.," Kobakhidze said at a government meeting on Monday.

While commenting on the protests ongoing in Tbilisi, Kobakhidze said it took the Georgian Interior Ministry only five days to neutralize the opposition's violence resources on Rustaveli Avenue. "A Maidan [revolution] attempt in our country was curbed in just five days. Yesterday, police didn't even deploy around the parliament building, and even though windows in the parliament building were smashed again, we saw that the opposition's violence resource was exhausted," Kobakhidze said.

The opposition is continuing its rallies without any agenda and demands and is not capable of mobilizing a large number of supporters, he said.

"These opposition forces are planning to overthrow the incumbent government at any cost by January 20, the day of the new U.S. president's inauguration, but I promise that those opposition forces will end their attempts at unrest in our country much sooner than January 20," he said.