"Recently Georgia has been trying to undermine the partnership with the West" - US ambassador

Degnan on partnership with the West

In recent months the authorities of Georgia are trying to undermine the partnership with the West, US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan believes, and this contradicts the will of Georgians:

“These are people who clearly intend to move towards Europe. They want a European future, they want a strong democracy and a prosperous economy that will not depend on Russia.”

Georgia has made real progress on the path to liberation from dependence on Russia, and it should continue even further, the ambassador notes. At the same time, Degnan emphasizes that Georgia has no reason to remain dependent on the Russian Federation — neither in trade, security, or anywhere.

“Georgia has good friends. And we all need good friends. I think that the Georgian people should tell those who are trying to undermine Georgia’s friendship with the USA, the European Union and many other countries that this is unacceptable. Your choice and your future belong to you,” Degnan said.

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On February 20, US Senators Jean Shaheen and Dick Durbin visited Georgia. Jin Shaheen said at a press conference on the “foreign agents” law initiated by the People’s Power deputies, who formally left the Georgian Dream, that the bill is not similar to US law, but to Russian law.

Shaheen said that the issues of deoligarchization and the EU’s twelve points toward candidacy were discussed at a meeting with Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili.

Shaheen also noted that it is extremely important for journalists to have the opportunity to work freely in their profession. According to the Senator, media freedom and human rights are among the main recommendations from the European Union, and Georgia must meet the challenge.

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On February 16, the official representative of the US State Department, Ned Price, reacted to the initiative of the deputies formally separated from the “Georgian dream” about “foreign agents” and declared that such a law would create a potential threat to the Euro-Atlantic movement of Georgia. According to Price, the law is based not on the American, but on the Russian and Hungarian versions of this legislative act.