On December 18, the U.S. Helsinki Commission stressed that the ruling Georgian Dream party is “dragging Georgians away from their chosen path to Euro-Atlantic integration and towards the axis of aggressors intent on undermining the democratic world order.” The Commission noted that GD is moving the country closer to autocratic states and should the Georgian Dream prevail in seizing power, it will turn Georgia into a “venue for power projection” for autocratic states.
“Despite massive resistance from Georgian people GD continues to integrate with the world’s autocrats,” noted the Commission, citing Georgian Prime Minister Kobakhidze’s visit to the Iranian President Pezeshkian’s inauguration, which the Commission said, served both GD’s efforts to strengthen economic ties with Iran and an increased support from Iranian proxies in spreading anti-Western narratives to aid GD’s campaign.
The Commission also pointed that the GD signed strategic partnership agreement with China and the decided to entrust the Anaklia Deep Sea Project to a Chinese consortium to serve as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“Should Georgian Dream prevail in seizing power, the party would turn Georgia into a venue for power projection and economic opportunity not only for its Russian patrons, but also for China and Iran, with whom GD has become increasingly close,” underlined the Commission.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission has called on the American authorities to ensure that Georgian Dream faces accountability for its actions several times in the past two years. It has been vocal about the human rights violations caused by GD, reiterating on a number of occasions the need for sanctions against the responsible officials.
The U.S. State Department has already taken some action against the GD government. On December 12, it imposed additional visa restrictions on individuals associated with the GD government’s repressive actions. Earlier, the U.S. also suspended its strategic partnership with Georgia.
On December 18, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel confirmed earlier statements that the U.S. was preparing a new round of sanctions against GD officials that would be announced in the coming weeks.
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