The Daily Beat: 10 June

The U.S. President Joe Biden, and the President of France Emmanuel Macron “urge the Georgian Dream ruling party to respect the public’s wishes by returning to the Euro-Atlantic path” according to the joint French-American Roadmap released by the White House on June 8. “The United States and France affirm their commitment to standing with the people of Georgia in their Euro-Atlantic aspirations,” the joint French-American Roadmap reads.

Foreign Ministry condemned the de facto elections held on June 9 in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia. In its official statement, the MFA noted that these so-called elections “grossly violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders,” further adding that “…any so-called elections held in the occupied territories are illegal and cannot have any legal effect as they contradict the fundamental principles and norms of international law.”

The EU, UK, France, and other international partners also condemned the so-called elections held in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, calling it illegitimate and further reaffirming support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi told the Georgian news outlet “Netgazeti”, that it had canceled its participation in the military component of the government event planned for May 26 to celebrate Georgia’s Independence Day, because of the anti-western statements made on April 29 by the honorary Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Transparency International-Georgia (TI-Georgia), a local anti-corruption watchdog, reported that the amendments to the law on the fight against corruption passed in its third and final reading on May 29, “do not take into account any of the key recommendations of the European Commission and the Venice Commission,” further arguing that in some areas these amendments even worsen already existing anti-corruption practices.

Civil activist Mariam Tsitsikashvili claims that after she disgraced and accused People’s Party MP Viktor Japaridze of undermining Georgian democracy by voting for the foreign agents’ law, police promptly arrested her at the airport for petty hooliganism and took away her passport. The next morning, the police transferred her to the Tbilisi City Court, where the trial occurred. The court hearing on Tsitsikashvili’s case has been postponed to June 18. According to Tsitsikashvili, neither she nor her friend, who witnessed the incident at the Tbilisi airport, were allowed to leave the country.

Gia Japaridze, the brother of Zurab Japaridze, reported on social media about several men dressed in black gathered around the apartment complex of Zurab (Girchi) Japaridze, leader of the opposition party Girchi-More Freedom allegedly waiting to physically attack him. After disclosing the information, they left the premises of the apartment building. Zurab Japaridze’s neighbors also spotted the suspicious figures. 

The Data of the Day

According to the preliminary data published by the National Statistics Office, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Georgia reached USD 201.4 million in the first quarter of 2024, marking a 64.4% decrease compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Geostat notes that decreasing in equity, reinvestment, and debt instruments is considered to be the main reason for the reduction of FDI.

The same data indicates that Turkey is topping the list of foreign direct investors with USD 42.4 million (21% of total investment), followed by the Czech Republic with USD 41.5 million (20.6%), the United States with USD 33.7 million (16.7%), the Netherlands with USD 32.3 million (16.1%) and Marshall Islands USD 22.3 million (11.1%).