At a hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, US secretary of state Antony Blinken stated that Georgia‘s “foreign agents” law, passed by the parliament on May 14, is borrowed from Moscow’s playbook. He noted that the US may take reciprocal measures.
Furthermore, Blinken emphasized that the negative implications of this law for Georgia’s European integration will be discussed within the European Union, and reciprocal steps are also likely from that side.
“We are very concerned about the foreign agents law that was passed. I think it’s right out of Moscow’s playbook unfortunately, and I think it clearly counters the desire of the overwhelming majority of Georgians to move toward the EU, and the EU integration.
So, we take very seriously what we might do in response, and I expect that we will take action. The European Union is observing the impact this law will have on Georgia’s accession process. I anticipate the consequences of this law’s adoption,” said the US secretary of state.
According to an anonymous source in Washington, cited by the Georgian service of Radio Liberty, the United States possesses information that “could damage the reputation of members of the Georgian political elite.”
The source in Washington believes that exposing Russian agents among the Georgian elite, as well as evidence of trading with Chinese influence, will undermine the claims of the “Georgian Dream” party that it is defending the nation’s sovereignty through the “foreign agents” bill.
