The White House said the “foreign agents” law undermines Georgia’s partnership with the United States.
Georgia faces financial sanctions due to the law on “foreign agents”, adopted by the Georgian parliament. This is what US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Jim O’Brien said during a visit to Tbilisi on May 14, reports SOVA.news.
O’Brien recalled that the United States transferred $390 million in aid to Georgia, aimed at military defense, economic development, and institution building, including strengthening civil society.
“This assistance may be in doubt if the strategic partnership changes and the US is perceived as an adversary instead of an ally,” he said.
The US Assistant Secretary of State noted that if the law on “foreign agents” is not changed and if the international community sees that democracy is being undermined in Georgia and violence is committed against peaceful demonstrators, there will be “some restriction” on the part of the United States.
“They will consider, first of all, the financial side, and secondly, the movement of people responsible for such actions. We are not talking about this because we want it to happen. We want Georgia to continue the peaceful path its in the EU and the Euro-Atlantic space,” said O’Brien.
Let us remind you that today the Georgian parliament finally adopted a bill on the transparency of foreign influence, which led to mass protests. The bill is similar to Russia’s “foreign agents” law, which has been used to crack down on critics of the Kremlin.
Part of the opposition in the Georgian parliament announced the transition to boycott mode after the adoption of the law on “foreign agents.”
Source: korrespondent
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