U.S. State Department to Take Further Action “As Appropriate” Regarding Georgia

At the U.S. State Department’s daily press briefing, Spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. State Department “will continue to take other policy actions as appropriate” regarding Georgia.

“The comprehensive review is still ongoing, but as you know…We have already suspended assistance as a result of that review. So it’s not like the review is ongoing and nothing has happened. We have already taken policy actions as part of that review, and we will continue to take other policy actions as appropriate,” the Spokesperson Miller said.

In late May of this year, the United States launched a comprehensive review of all U.S.-Georgian cooperation in response to the Georgian parliament’s passage of a Russian-style foreign agents law aimed at stifling civil society and dissent.

Since then, the U.S. State Department has imposed visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian officials; the Treasury Department has sanctioned four Georgian individuals, including two senior MIA officials responsible for the brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters; the U.S. has cut more than $95 million in aid to the Georgian government; and the Noble Partner exercise has been postponed “indefinitely.”

In addition, there have been reports that the U.S. has already drafted the sanctions package against Bidzina Ivanishvili, the GD Honorary Chairman and the country’s billionaire de facto ruler.

After Georgia’s disputed parliamentary elections in October, the United States joined other international partners in calling for a full investigation of the elections.

Two bills, the Georgian People’s Act (GPA), introduced in the U.S. Senate, and the MEGOBARI Act, introduced in the House of Representatives, propose sanctions against Georgian officials responsible for undermining Georgia’s democracy.

Also Read:

• 23/10/2024 – 10 More Senators to Co-Sponsor Georgian People’s Act
• 06/09/2024 – Sen. Shaheen: GD Wants Georgia to Be a Dictatorship, Not a Democracy
• 12/07/2024 – Interview | Uzra Zeya, U.S. Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights
• 24/05/2024 – GD Accuses U.S. of “Blackmail”, Downplays Restrictions
• 27/05/2024 – “MEGOBARI Act” Envisages Sanctions for Undermining, Injuring Georgian Democracy
  

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