U.S. cuts $125M aid to Georgia over anti-democratic actions
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States is suspending financial aid to the Georgian government, amounting to approximately $125 million CAD. This decision resulted from a review of bilateral cooperation conducted in response to the "anti-democratic" actions of the authorities in Tbilisi.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concerns: "The Georgian government's anti-democratic actions and false statements are incompatible with membership norms in the EU and NATO.”
U.S. suspends aid to Georgia
Despite the decision to suspend financial aid amounting to approximately $125 million CAD, Washington—as Blinken emphasized—does not intend to completely cease assistance to Georgia. Blinken noted that the United States will continue support that directly benefits the country's citizens.
Under the new law in Georgia, the process of registering so-called foreign agents will begin on August 1. Critics of this regulation fear that the new law could allow the Georgian authorities to destroy civil society and introduce an authoritarian model of governance similar to the Russian one. They believe that adopting this law signifies a retreat from the democratic standards prevalent in the West.
The Georgian authorities defend themselves by claiming their aim is mere "transparency and the defence of sovereignty.” They describe their critics as "the global war party" and accused "external forces" of organizing protests.
The law on foreign agents has been criticized and challenged in the Constitutional Court by President Zurabishvili, non-governmental organizations, and opposition parties. The Chairman of the Tribunal announced that these complaints would be consolidated and reviewed jointly in a "reasonable timeframe."
