UK, US unveil new sanctions against Georgian officials responsible for violence against protesters
The sanctions targeted several key officials in charge of police and internal security, but did not extend to Georgian Dream politicians.
The sanctions targeted several key officials in charge of police and internal security, but did not extend to Georgian Dream politicians.
The threat of further Western sanctions against Georgian officials over democratic backsliding in the country has led to reports of alarm within the ruling Georgian Dream party, weeks ahead of parliamentary elections. On Wednesday, TV channel Formula reported citing confidential sources that bank accounts abroad belonging to the children of Georgian Dream founder and billionaire, Bidzina Ivanishvili, had been limited. TV station Mtavari Arkhi also reported on Wednesday that Ivanishvili h
The White House has disinvited Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Georgia’s delegation from a reception for world leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. On Wednesday, the US Embassy in Georgia told local media that Kobakhidze’s invitation to the reception was revoked due to his government’s anti-democratic actions, misinformation, and negative rhetoric about the US and the West. Voice of America reported the snub on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources including a se
A group of pro-government Azerbaijani NGOs have drafted a statement accusing Armenia of assisting Russia in evading Western sanctions, despite trade between Azerbaijan and Russia also steadily growing since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On 17 September, 10 Azerbaijani NGOs published the open letter addressing officials responsible for imposing and implementing sanctions against Russia in the US and EU. They cited a ‘sharp increase’ in trade between Armenia and Russia since the beginning
The US government has reportedly prepared a package of sanctions against Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili which they are considering imposing ‘in the near future’. Voice of America reported the news on Friday, citing anonymous US government sources as saying that the US Treasury and State Departments had been leading the development of the package. While previously only discussed, the package is now reportedly ‘ready for implementation’ pending a political decision. The sources did
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said that he believed US President Joe Biden’s administration was ‘influenced’ by ‘certain forces’ to impose sanctions on Georgian nationals, suggesting that American institutions needed ‘de-oligharchisation’. In a press briefing on Tuesday, Kobakhidze said that the decision to impose financial sanctions on four Georgian nationals, in addition to travel restrictions on over 60 others, was ‘frivolous and very sad’. He further suggested that the
The US has ‘indefinitely’ postponed its annual military drills with Georgia, as diplomatic tensions between the two countries over the controversial foreign agent law continue to mount. On Friday, the US Department of Defence announced it would be postponing its annual Noble Partner training as part of a ‘comprehensive review of the United States–Georgia bilateral relationship’. They cited the Georgian government’s ‘false accusations against the United States and Other Western entities’, and