On September 16, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller held a briefing on the recent U.S. decision to impose sanctions and visa restrictions on Georgian officials and individuals accused of undermining democracy in the country. In addition, the Spokesperson also addressed GD’s recent announcement that it plans to apologize for the August 2008 war, stressing that Georgia has no need to apologize for Russia’s invasion and occupation.
The Spokesperson Miller began the briefing with the announcement of the State Department’s decision on Georgia, underlining that “the United States remains deeply concerned by the ongoing anti-democratic actions of the Georgian Government, which are incompatible with membership norms in the EU and NATO.”
He also noted that in addition to passing the Foreign Agents Law, the Georgian government has repeatedly and violently cracked down on Georgian citizens protesting the law. “Today, the United States is imposing sanctions on two Georgian Government officials and two leaders of a violent extremist group, as well as imposing visa restrictions on more than 60 Georgian individuals for their involvement in human rights abuses, corrupt practices, or other anti-democratic actions,” noted the Spokesperson Miller.
According to Matthew Miller, this decision came as a result of the “ongoing comprehensive review of all bilateral cooperation in Georgia due to persistent anti-democratic actions”, as well as anti-Western statements made by high-level Georgian officials which are “contrary to the spirit” of the U.S.-Georgian relations.
“The Georgian Government can recommit to its Euro-Atlantic trajectory by conducting free and fair elections, withdrawing and repealing anti-democratic legislation, and demonstrating significant and measurable progress on outstanding EU accession reform recommendations,” stressed the Spokesperson Miller.
As a conclusion of the opening statement, Matthew Miller emphasized the 32-years-long U.S. support towards Georgia’s economic and democratic development. “Our assistance has focused on making Georgia stronger, more prosperous, and a more capable country – or more – a country more capable of defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he noted, adding: “We hope the Government of Georgia will return to the path that its people so evidently desire.”
During the Q&A portion of the briefing, the Spokesperson was asked if the fact that the comprehensive U.S.-Georgia review is not yet complete means that this decision represents a “second tranche of multi-layer measures” that the U.S. plans to take. The Spokesman Miller noted that this is not a particularly second action taken by the U.S., pointing to the $95 million in funding cuts to the Georgian Government.
On the question of the U.S. granting an exception and naming the now 90 or so individuals on whom the U.S. has imposed visa restrictions in order to counter disinformation in Georgia denying the sanctions, Matthew Miller noted that this is an issue that needs to be raised and lobbied in Congress.
Finally, the Spokesperson was asked to comment on the Bidzina Ivanishvili’s, the founder and the Honorary Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, latest campaign that tries to “convince the world that it was Georgia, backed by the U.S., that started a war with Russia in 2008.”
The Spokesman Miller answered: “I would just say simply I don’t think Georgia needs to apologize for having been invaded by Russia any more than Georgia needs to apologize for the fact that Russia continues to illegally occupy 20% of Georgian territory. It is Russia that has been the aggressor in invading Georgia and continuing to illegally occupy Georgia, as Russia has been the aggressor with other countries in the region – of course Ukraine being a very prominent example of that.”
On May 23, Secretary of State Blinken announced a visa restriction policy for undermining democracy in Georgia and as well a comprehensive review of all US-Georgia cooperation. Restrictions target individuals responsible for suppressing civil society and freedom of peaceful assembly in Georgia through violence or intimidation.
Later on July 5, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the indefinite postponement of the Noble Partner exercise in Georgia scheduled for July 25-August 6 this year. According to the statement, the decision was made after the U.S. initiated a comprehensive review of U.S.-Georgia bilateral relations.
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