The Foreign Agents Act will undermine U.S.-Georgia—civil Georgia—relations

At a daily press briefing on May 6, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the foreign agents law was being reviewed by the Georgian government “would put Georgia on a precarious path, […] endanger Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic path and undermine U.S.-Georgia relations.” Spokesman Miller said the U.S. would continue to push for these points, but added that it would be up to the Georgian government to decide whether to pass such a law.

Spokesman Miller declined to comment on any sanctions the State Department might consider regarding Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of Georgian Dream, or other Georgian lawmakers who support the controversial bill.

He also distinguished between the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and Georgia's Kremlin-inspired law, emphasizing that while FARA applies to individuals acting on behalf of foreign governments, it does not target the work of non-governmental organizations and humanitarian work and civil society work, which is provided for by Georgian legislation. He reiterated that the two laws were completely different in nature and rejected any “false equivalence” between them.

Despite constant appeals from the West that the foreign agents law will undermine the country's Euro-Atlantic prospects, the ruling majority remains committed to seeing the law through to the end and implementing it. The parliamentary majority is already in place passed the law in second reading. The final, third reading is scheduled for mid-May.

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