Russian Foreign Intelligence: U.S. Colluding with OSCE/ODIHR to “Interfere” in Georgia’s Elections

The Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is accusing the United States of planning to “interfere” in Georgia’s upcoming Parliamentary elections against the ruling Georgian Dream, using the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Russian state-controlled media TASS reported on September 11, citing the document received by the agency from the SVR.

The SVR claims that the ODIHR transformed “into a mouthpiece for the dishonest games of the United States authorities,” adding that “In the current situation, Russia’s decision to reduce funding for the OSCE to somehow weaken the destructive activities of this once respected international structure seems justified.”

Russia voiced similar allegations against the U.S. in August as well. Following the SVR’s earlier claim that the U.S. is planning a “Tbilisi Maidan” after the October elections, Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergey Naryshkin said on August 27 that Russia aims to prevent a “color revolution” in Georgia. The U.S. State Department Spokesperson categorically denied Russian allegations that the U.S. is planning a “color revolution in Georgia,” instead emphasizing U.S. support for Georgia’s development and its struggle against Russian aggression.

The Russian Foreign Intelligence claims that “the US State Department intends to use a new tool to interfere in the Parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26 this year in order to prevent the victory of the Georgian Dream party, which is now “undesirable to Washington”, adding that the “the Americans have agreed to ‘cooperate’ with the OSCE/ODIHR leadership on the Georgian direction.”

The SVR claims that “it is planned that the OSCE ODIHR will publish an interim report 10-20 days before the vote with a conclusion that there are no conditions for free and fair elections in the country” and that “after the first results of the expression of will are made public, a conclusion will be presented on the non-compliance of the electoral process with the norms of democracy.”

In this context, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service accuses the U.S. of planning “to give an excuse to the pro-Western Georgian opposition to launch mass protests with the aim of seizing power in the country by force.”

The Russian Intelligence also says it is “regrettable” that the OSCE/ODIHR “is involved in such machinations.” “We especially note the Bureau’s readiness to recognize it as ‘undemocratic’ a priori, long before the vote,” the SVR says.

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