Washington ‘doesn’t rule out’ further actions over Georgia’s foreign agent law

The US State Department has said it does not rule out further measures in response to Georgia’s controversial foreign agent law, adding that Washington’s review of its relations with the Georgian Government was ongoing.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that the Georgian government ‘continues to move in a deeply troubling direction, one that moves the country further away from its Euro-Atlantic trajectory, which the Georgian people, we know, overwhelmingly desire’.

He told reporters that the US was concerned about mechanisms in the foreign agent law that would allow the government to forcefully register civil society and media organisations as foreign agents, even if they chose not to comply with the law.

As the law came into effect last month, organisations were given 30 days to voluntarily register. With the deadline passing on Monday, Deputy Justice Minister Tamar Tkeshelashvili stated that only 476 organisations had applied for registration.

Tkeshelashvili had previously stated that around 30,000 non-governmental and media organisations are operating in the country.

[Read more: OC Media refuses to register as ‘foreign agent’ in Georgia as government deadline passes]

During the press briefing, Miller reiterated that the US had begun a comprehensive review of relations with Georgia, while also implementing visa restrictions on ‘dozens of Georgian individuals and their family members, including members of the Georgian Dream Party, members of parliament, law enforcement, and private citizens’.

[Read more: US travel sanctions reportedly hit Georgian officials]

Miller also recalled that on 31 July, the US suspended more than $95 million in aid to the Georgian government, citing its ‘anti-democratic actions’ and ‘false statements’ about the West and Washington.

‘[The relationship] review remains ongoing. I would not rule out further actions’, Miller said.

Responding at a press briefing on Wednesday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze claimed the ‘Global War Party’ had a ‘serious influence on specific structures, including in the US, unfortunately, including the State Department. Therefore, we hear such messages, which is very sad’.

Members of the ruling Georgian Dream Party have in recent months increasingly claimed that a secret cabal described as the ‘Global War Party’, was controlling the West and attempting to sow war globally. In public speeches, including at a government rally in April, the party’s leaders and billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili alleged that it was seeking to push Georgia to open a ‘second front’ of war against Russia.

Answering a reporter’s question, Kobakhidze claimed the Georgian government was not aware of what the $95 million in financial aid the US had cut was. ‘Maybe [the US] can explain themselves what 95 million they are talking about, we couldn’t figure it out’, he said.

‘Unfortunately, the official structures are heavily influenced by the Global War Party, which is very sad and very disturbing. We are sure that these influences will definitely weaken from next year’, he added.

Read in Armenian on CivilNet.