Georgia’s security chief Mdinaradze accuses US Embassy in Thailand of funding ‘radicals’ in Georgia
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG), has leveled new accusations at the US, claiming the the American Embassy in Thailand ‘has people in Georgia who are funded for anti-Chinese purposes’. Without citing any evidence, Mdinaradze added that around ‘95-98%’ of the embassy’s funding is used in support of ‘radicals against the government, for revolutionary purposes’, among other provocative activities.
The comments came in an interview with the pro-government media outlet Imedi that was published on Wednesday.
While Mdinaradze did not directly mention the US Embassy in Thailand at first — simply saying ‘the embassy of one country in Thailand’ — he later said ‘This is how American taxpayer money is being spent, which elected the government of their country to allow them to fight “Chinese threats” ’.
He added that it was ‘understandable from their perspective’ that the US would be interested in pushing back against Chinese ‘threats’, but claimed that the money was instead being spent to fund opposition to the Georgian government.
Mdinaradze did not specify what kind of opposition activities he was referring to, nor why the US would use its embassy in Thailand as a base for anti-Georgia activities, as there is an embassy with a large staff in Georgia, as well as in neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Beyond being picked up by Georgian opposition media outlets, which called the allegations ‘conspiracy theories’, Mdinaradze’s comments were also cited by the Russian state-run media outlet TASS.
After Mdinaradze’s interview was initially aired, many opposition figures and media outlets speculated that he may have confused Thailand with Taiwan — Imedi then wrote its own article on the comments under the title, ‘the cheap lies of opposition propagandists’.
Mdinaradze and other Georgian Dream members have frequently floated conspiracy theories, some of which implicate the US and US-affiliated organisations, including allegations that there are nefarious US-backed plots to overthrow the government.
At the same time, Georgian Dream has continued to make a concerted effort to court the administration of President Donald Trump. It is unclear if the efforts have made any inroads, as the Trump administration appears largely uninterested, one way or another, in Georgia.
Yousef Bardouka
