“As far back as the 6th grade, I told myself that one day I would become an ambassador. Now, I am living out my childhood dream,” says Gregory Tabatadze, Georgia’s Ambassador to Armenia. He’s been serving in the Georgian diplomatic corps for the past twenty years.

"Let us Georgians have the wine, you Armenians, the cognac, and the Russians, their vodka" The Ambassador’s father is a winemaker. “For me, being in good spirits, singing, dancing and making noteworthy toasts, are traditions. I respect wine even though I don’t drink much. And I only drink the best around,” Ambassador Tabatadze says. When selecting a wine, the Ambassador takes the season into account and what he is eating. He says that according to the custom of his forefathers, November-January is the period for red wine, at which time grilled or fried meat dishes are the norm. After Marc, comes the white wine season. When it comes to Armenian wines, he enjoys Ijevan wines and the Areni brand the best. They have interesting flavors and have a bit more bitter than the Georgian wines. “Our semi-sweet wines aren’t all that accepted in Europe. You can taste the strength of the soil in Armenian wines. I can say, without any doubt, that your cognac is top-notch. We don’t have its equal. Let us Georgians stick with wine and you Armenians with cognac. The Russians can have their vodka,” the Georgian Ambassador suggests. The Ambassador’s mother, who passed away in 2002, was a biologist by profession who taught and worked at the Faculty of Parasitical Studies at the Institute of Biology. “She would always joke that she started to study parasites to get to know her youngest child.” The Ambassador is quick to point out that as a young boy he was never a “parasite” and graduated high school with honors. Born in 1963, he went on to study at the Department of Oriental Studies at Tbilisi State University. There were three kids in the family. His sister is an artist and his brother is an economist who runs his own business. The brother says the Ambassador is the wealthiest of the lot. Gregory Tabatadze has never run a business. “I’d never make a good businessman. It’s my humble opinion that it’s better to be alongside those people who work to improve their country and not just themselves.” But the Ambassador doesn’t complain about his salary, in fact, after the Rose Revolution in Georgia, his salary increased seventeen-fold. “From what I see, Armenians aren’t dissatisfied with their government” “There is freedom of speech in Armenia and Georgia. What’s lacking a bit is journalistic accountability, but this was even more the case in the past. A reporter must display a level of maturity and responsibility in all matters. We must understand how to utilize the freedoms granted us. In Armenia and Georgia, there are newspapers that are independent and state news outlets,” notes Ambassador Tabatadze. The Ambassador worked for two years as a reporter with the Georgian “Republic” state paper, covering foreign affairs. “Those were the final two years of the Soviet Union, when we felt the coming of independence and when we wanted to tell people about the enormous responsibilities we would be facing when it came. You have to craft an independent economy, an army and diplomacy. Sadly, people weren’t reading official papers and all that was hard to grasp,” recounts the former journalist. The Ambassador said the processes leading towards the building of democratic societies are similar in both Armenia and Georgia. “The authorities listen to what the people have to say. I would like for the Armenian people to be satisfied with their government. I couldn’t say that the people here are actually dissatisfied with their government. I haven’t seen any complaints regarding socio-economic issues for that matter. I am also satisfied with the policies of the Armenian government towards my country. The relations between Armenia and Georgia are those of two equal and democratic nations. I am happy to be able to represent my country here in Armenia. For me, Armenia is like a second Georgia,” the Ambassador states. The Ambassador says that there are many similarities between Armenians and Georgians – friendship, respect of elders and women, politeness, concern for ones native town and self-dignity. “Once, while walking through Tbilisi’s neighborhoods and saw how Armenian and Georgian children were playing together. I thought to myself what a loss it would be to Tbilisi if such sights were to one day vanish. The difference between the two nations, according to the Ambassador, is that Armenians are more bound to traditions than the Georgians. He actually knows a few Armenian words like, ‘hello’, ‘how do you do?’, ‘welcome’ and ‘slowly’, “What I really enjoy about Yerevan is that you’ll see the streets full of people. I don’t like the empty streets when I go to various European cities. The same thing is slowly happening in Georgia. I remember how it was in the time of our parents; people would promenade up and down Rustaveli Avenue. I also don’t like it when they destroy old buildings in the name of progress. I can understand that life must forge ahead, but at least they should preserve the facades of these old structures,” the Ambassador states. Ambassador’s wife has an Armenian grandmother Ambassador Tabatadze has many Armenian friends, including entrepreneurs and political figures who now hold top government posts here in Armenia. The Ambassador was reluctant to mention any names. “I have friends from Armenia with whom I studied at the University of Cairo. I remember how we passed around packages of soup.”He likes to dine on Armenian ‘dolma and kufteh’, and says the cuisines of the two nations are quite alike. Ambassador Tabatadze likes to sip a dry red wine as he reads a good book about art. He also has a fondness for guns and the history of weapons. He says he once owned a gun and it was a huge responsibility. When it comes to art, Ambassador Tabatadze prefers the European impressionists. He also enjoys the work of Martiros Saryan. The Ambassador’s wife is a musician but isn’t working at the moment. Ambassador Tabatadze says that being the wife of a diplomat is a job by itself. She must attend all sorts of charitable and official functions with the First Lady and the wife of the Foreign Minister. One of my wife’s grandmothers was Armenian. We are still looking into the ethnic roots of the other. Ambassador Tabatadze has one daughter who is presently in the United States studying economy and international relations at university. The daughter is also a singer. The Ambassador says he wouldn’t oppose the marriage of his daughter to an Armenian. “I dream of the day when Georgia will be free of occupying forces and our territorial sovereignty will be restored. I also am concerned about the health and well-being of future generations, concludes Ambassador Tabatadze.